Evolving development goals in an evolving world

Evolving development goals in an evolving world An Economist Intelligence Unit programme sponsored by Microsoft

Sponsored by:

Preface & about this report

Section 1: The Goals

Section 2: The Strategies

Preface Evolving development goals in an evolving world is a report that explores how policymakers around the world—from civil servants to elected officials—rank their economic, social and environmental priorities’ alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report also reviews the strategies and investments these policymakers are prioritising to meet these goals in the future. This survey-based paper seeks to understand the balance policymakers must strike between a global and local focus and to point to areas of opportunity amid uncertainty and

Top 3 goals by country

1 =1

2

upheaval. It provides a window into some of these challenges and reflects policymakers’ thinking as they contemplate strategies to meet their broader development goals in isolation or in partnership with other agencies, industry or organisations. As the survey results indicate, tough trade-offs lie ahead, with respondents prioritising economic prosperity over other goals such as environmental protection. Against this backdrop, pioneering examples of public sector innovation and collaborative policymaking with other groups are emerging—examples that will be explored later in this report.

Some notable findings include: All countries save India rank improving economic opportunity as a top-three goal In only three countries surveyed did the environment rank as one of the three top priorities Innovation ranks first, second or third in all countries but Canada, India and Kenya as a social or economic objective Education is a top-three priority in only developing countries Collaboration between government and other groups is almost universally chosen as a top-three lever to better meet social or economic goals.

3

An equal sign denotes a tie among responses

Creating economic opportunity

Canada

Denmark

1

3

2

Improving the quality of and access to education

Poland

Singapore

UK

US

2

1

3

1

1

2

2

=2 2

=3 3

=2

2

3 1

Improving the quality of and access to healthcare

Protecting the environment and natural resources

Kenya

1

Increasing innovation

Improving infrastructure

India

3

1

3

1

2

=3

2

3

Reducing inequalities

Fostering justice and stability

Evolving development goals in an evolving world

3

2




and economic priorities. These eight goals loosely align with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals and range from better access to education and healthcare to improving infrastructure and

innovation to expanding economic opportunity. The survey also queried them on the levers, from partnerships to technology to entrepreneurship, they believe will best help meet these goals.

About this report In February of 2016, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), on behalf of Microsoft, polled 360 policymakers in eight countries—Canada, Denmark, India, Kenya, Poland, Singapore, the UK and the US—on eight social

Economic and social goals explored within this survey

UN Sustainable Development Goals










3


As for the sample, the vast majority of respondents (73%) are civil servants; nearly 17% are appointed officials and roughly 10% are elected officials. The largest group (42%) works for federal or national organisations, with 33% with local (including county and municipal) authorities and 24% with state or provincial bodies.


Participating countries Canada

United Kingdom Denmark Poland

The sample draws from 45 respondents who work in a variety of functions in each country. They are employed in government agencies or organisations that focus on areas ranging from trade and transportation to agriculture and education. Results were tested for statistical significance at a 95% confidence level. Views from those in both low- and high-income countries provide new insights into how policymakers’ thinking is evolving in various regions to meet current and future global challenges.


United States

Singapore India Kenya

8

countries

360 6:2 participants

developed : developing countries

Position of participants % respondents

73.1%

16.7%

Civil Servant

Appointed Official

10.3% Elected Official

Geographic coverage of participating organisations % respondents

42.2%

33.3%

Federal/national

Local including county or municipal

24.4% State/ provincial


4



Setting the scene


Interviewees

As global challenges grow in scope and scale, policymakers are under pressure to meet their development goals. The context in which they must work is far from easy. Slowing growth, stagnant wages, increased political instability and Europe’s refugee crisis require decisive action to stay the course. Throw in global concerns such as climate change and rising inequality, and it is clear that the intertwined nature of today’s challenges will demand cross-agency and -sector collaboration.

While the SDGs have global ambitions, including protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all, policymakers face many challenges at home. Today in the UK, for example, 16-25-year-olds account for 40% of all those out of work, thus reducing their revenue contribution to the economy. Meanwhile, globally, more people are living longer with multiple medical conditions that require costly treatments, placing an increased burden on national healthcare systems.

While some evidence exists of efforts to tackle complex, cross-border challenges, responses to this survey of 360 global policymakers reveal a focus on local issues such as health and education, rather than on global goals such as resource conservation and the move to a low-carbon economy. For example, while all countries rank improving economic opportunity as a top-three priority, and many highlight the need to increase innovation, protecting the environment is a top-three priority only in wealthy countries. One framework that could help governments shape their development strategies emerged last year with the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These grew out of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of targets that were designed to reduce poverty, hunger and disease by 2015.

The good news is that respondents seek more collaboration between government and other groups, as well as increased government spending and greater use of technology to meet these goals. But the siloed nature of public sector departments and public funding allocations means governments still struggle to connect one problem with another. This needs to change as the world’s problems become increasingly complex and interconnected. “Eliminating poverty … will require action on inequality, as inequality is a driving force behind it,” says Erinch Sahan, global adviser on business and markets at Oxfam GB. To be successful, co-ordinating efforts across agencies, sectors and countries will be critical.

The report includes insights from the following development experts who were asked to comment on the report’s findings and add perspectives from their areas of expertise and experience. We thank all the individuals who participated:

Jake Anders, senior research associate in the Department of Learning and Leadership, UCL Institute of Education Ana Marie Argilagos, senior advisor, Equitable Development, Ford Foundation Casey Dunning, senior policy analyst, Center for Global Development Andrew Norton, director, International Institute for Environment and Development Erinch Sahan, global adviser on business and markets, Oxfam GB

“Eliminating poverty… will require action on inequality, as inequality is a driving force behind it.” Erinch Sahan, global adviser on business and markets at Oxfam GB.

The findings and views in this report do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsor. The author was Sarah Murray; Carolyn Whelan was the editor; Ana Berenguer was the analyst.


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Section 1

The Goals


6




Prosperity first – equality later Given the current economic climate, it is not surprising that policymakers polled are keenly focused on boosting economic opportunity, reinforcing the idea that GDP growth tends to precede social development. In fact, policymakers in all countries rank expanding economic opportunity, improving infrastructure or increasing industrial innovation—all of which underpin economic growth—as one of their top three development goals. Improving healthcare is ranked fourth globally. For the world’s wealthier countries, the path to prosperity often begins with innovation. Survey respondents in

Poland, Singapore and Denmark are among those prioritising innovation— all three countries have developed strong mechanisms that support innovation. Denmark (not surprising, given its Lego legacy) recently established an innovation foundation with an annual budget of Dkr1.5bn. Similarly, Poland is using €10bn in structural funds from the European Union to stimulate commercially oriented research. Finally, Singapore’s 2016 budget includes provision for an Industry Transformation Programme to drive growth through innovation and to help Singaporean companies compete globally.

Developed versus developing country goals

Developed countries

% respondents

Developing countries 10%


31.5% 17.8%


30.0% 58.9%


17.8% 50.0%


50.4% 46.7%


44.1% 24.4%


19.6% 28.9%


38.1% 42 .2%


24.8% 13.3%

Other


For other high-income countries, investments in infrastructure anchor social and economic progress. Canada (where respondents attach the highest importance to improving infrastructure) in its 2016 budget committed nearly C$60bn for new infrastructure funding. The UK—where infrastructure improvement is a topthree goal—last year created a National Infrastructure Commission to increase investment in critical infrastructure such as energy and transport networks.

20%

30%

40%

50%

0.7% 1.1%

7




Meeting basic needs – a top priority in emerging markets Just as Maslow’s hierarchy requires food and shelter before more advanced human progress, respondents in the lower-income countries of Kenya and India place their highest priorities on improving healthcare and education, reflecting a divergent path to social and economic progress than that of their higher-income peers. Indeed, respondents in India stand alone in not prioritising improving economic opportunity as a top national priority. This is understandable. In India—whose policymakers make up one of the biggest survey groups to highlight improved access to healthcare as a top goal—just 16% households have access to free or partially free public healthcare,


according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “The closer you get to the ground, the more there’s an emphasis on unemployment and healthcare because that’s what people see,” observes Ana Marie Argilagos, senior advisor, Equitable Development, at the Ford Foundation.

“The closer you get to the ground, the more there’s an emphasis on unemployment and healthcare because that’s what people see.” Ana Marie Argilagos, senior advisor, Equitable Development at the Ford Foundation

For some, the focus on education is paying off. According to the World Bank, Kenya has already met a few of the original MDG targets, including almost universal primary school enrolment and narrower gender gaps in education.

8




Growth wins out over environmental goals While 8 of the 17 SDGs are focused on environmental issues—including climate action, ocean conservation and responsible consumption—survey responses reveal a lack of political will among policymakers to consider this as a top priority. Protecting the environment and natural resources ranks only fifth, lagging behind creating economic opportunity, increasing innovation in industry, improving infrastructure and improving the quality of and access to healthcare. Protecting the environment as a top priority is more prevalent among high-income economies, with this a top-three priority only for respondents

in Canada, Denmark and, to a lesser degree, the US. For countries still developing their economies, environmental spending falls down the agenda. Indeed, the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015 exposed how low- and high-income countries are divided on the question of promoting carbon reduction.

However, some recognise that environmental protection and economic growth are intertwined. In Canada, whose policymakers form the largest group prioritising environmental protection, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that Canada will allocate some of its pledged infrastructure spending to green technologies.

Protecting ecosystems or combating climate change often loses out to immediate domestic concerns, notes Mr Sahan of Oxfam. “Youth unemployment, which puts more heat and pressure on local players to act, is more likely to get their attention,” he says.

Environmental rank by country % respondents who believe Protecting the Environment and Natural Resources is a top social or environmental goal in their country

50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

51.5%

42 .2%

33.3%

26.7%

22 .2%

17.8%

17.8%

Canada

Denmark

US

Poland

India

Singapore

UK


13.3%

Kenya

9


Notably, Indian policymakers did not rank protecting the environment as a top-three goal (prioritising instead increased access to healthcare and education). But, at the national level, reducing carbon emissions is seen as compatible with efforts to raise living standards by increasing energy access: India has ambitious plans to grow the portion of renewable energy in its national power supply. “The big shift is in seeing the low-carbon transition as an economic opportunity rather than as a drag,” notes Andrew Norton, director, International Institute for Environment and Development. “There is evidence that India wants to move in that direction.”



“Governments that don’t prioritise growth and employment are rare, so in general [environmental goals] need to merge with the notion that the green transition is good for growth to get political buy-in.” Mr Norton of IIED

But environmental investments can pay off. In Kenya, for example, improved farming techniques (such as promoting biodiversity and increasing the organic matter in soils) have helped smallholder farmers in the western part of the country receive carbon credits issued under the Sustainable Agricultural Land Management (SALM) carbon accounting methodology. Mr Norton argues that for the world to realise environmental ambitions set out both in the SDGs and in Paris, linking environmental and economic issues is essential. “Governments that don’t prioritise growth and employment are rare, so, in general, environmental goals need to merge with the notion that the green transition is good for growth to get political buy-in,” he says.


10




The inequality conundrum If the lure of prosperity is a strong theme in the survey, policymakers do not appear to be connecting economic growth goals with efforts to reduce inequality. This latter goal ranked eighth (last) globally and below fourth place in every country. The relatively low emphasis on tackling inequality is surprising, given talk in Europe of inequality as a trigger of unrest and rising cries of inequality stoking an overheated US presidential campaign. It is also worrying, as inequality of all sorts— income, gender and ethnicity— works against progress and can limit gains from diversity in innovation, healthcare, education, innovation

and, by extension, economic growth.

programmes to offshore havens.

Failing to address inequality hurts communities and hampers economic growth, according to the OECD. In fact, OECD research has found that the cumulative UK and US growth rates would have been between 6 and 9 percentage points higher in the past two decades had income disparities not widened.

Oxfam’s Mr Sahan points to tax avoidance as a challenge for some countries. “Our calculations show that developing countries are missing out on over US$170bn a year because of use of tax havens,” he says. “The amount of nurses and teachers you could pay for with that is huge.”

Evidence of the growing rich-poor divide recently emerged from leakage of the so-called Panama Papers, which revealed the loss of corporate tax revenue that might otherwise have funded social or economic development

Reducing inequality by country % respondents

10%

Kenya

33.3%

India

24.4%

Canada

22.2%

Poland

22.2%

Singapore

22.2%

UK

22.2%

Denmark

15.6%

US

13.3%


20%

30%

“Our calculations show that developing countries are missing out on over $170 billion a year because of use of tax havens ... The amount of nurses and teachers you could pay for with that is huge.” Erinch Sahan, global adviser on business and markets at Oxfam GB.

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Section 2

The Strategies


12

Preface



A diverse policy toolkit In a world with many seemingly insurmountable challenges and dwindling resources, what strategies and investments best help a country meet its social and economic goals? The policymaker’s toolbox contains a range of instruments, including subsidies, grants and tax breaks, awareness-raising and community engagement. Strikingly, however, collaboration emerges as a top lever across countries and goals—between the government and other groups, internally between government agencies and among administrators at all levels. Nine in 10 respondents describe collaboration and partnerships as either “very important” or “somewhat important”. Public spending is also a key lever, particularly for Canada, India and the UK. Further, throughout the survey, all forms of state support such as subsidies, grants and tax breaks top the global list to help nations progress in a variety of areas, from job creation and small business development to innovation, infrastructure development, entrepreneurial activities and protecting the environment. Financial incentives play a role in improving education as well. Policymakers polled largely agree that better pay for teachers would best help

their country meet its education goals, beating out universal testing in every country save India as a top education improvement lever. This points to the importance of investing in people for long-term returns. When it comes to meeting healthcare goals, market and regulatory forces also appear to be an enabler. Lower medicine and treatment prices rank highest to improve access to healthcare. While funding and costs are clearly important drivers of success, Ms Argilagos argues that cash injections are not the only mechanisms supporting progress. “We needed more flexible financing,” she recalls from her time in US government. “We needed to be creative and figure out how to make sure that resources get to all levels of government.”

Top 3 global levers % respondents

More collaboration between the government and other groups including businesses and nonprofits on these issues

42.2%

Higher government spending on social and economic programmes

37.2%

Increased community engagement in these issues

34.7%

Individual efforts, through entrepreneurship, are also celebrated in the survey. Respondents in Poland, for instance, consider this the top lever to help accelerate progress towards their economic and social goals. Meanwhile, Singaporeans and Kenyans are most likely to favour expanding government programmes for job creation, small business development or entrepreneurial activities to meet economic prosperity goals over the next decade.

“We need more flexible financing... We need to be creative and figure out how to make sure that resources get to all levels of government.” Ana Marie Argilagos, senior advisor, Equitable Development at the Ford Foundation


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Breaking down barriers to boost collaboration In a world bound by resource constraints and uncertainty, interconnected strategies and broader cross-sector co-operation becomes increasingly important. And many policy goals cannot be addressed in isolation. For example, the state of a nation’s health is closely related to education and inequality levels: Richer, better-educated people live longer than poorer, less-educated people, according to the National Longitudinal Mortality Survey, which tracks the mortality of people originally interviewed by the US Census Bureau. So it is encouraging to see survey respondents pointing to collaboration as the most effective tool to meet their social and economic goals. When considering the institutional support they need, the second biggest group of respondents points to better collaboration between agencies. And when asked what external factors

Top 3 obstacles by country

1

2

would best help them meet their goals, many indicated that they would seek collaboration between national or local governments in their region. But connecting the dots is not easy due to the siloed nature of government departments and public funding allocations–and often policymakers fail to connect one problem with another. For example, despite the high ranking ascribed to improving education by respondents in several countries, few appear to have made the connection between inequity and educational performance.

“The education system doesn’t work in isolation... Schools [can’t] make up for everything else that’s going on in young people’s lives and schools can’t reverse massive inequalities.” Jake Anders, senior research associate in the Department of Learning and Leadership at UCL Institute of education

“The education system doesn’t work in isolation,” cautions Jake Anders, senior research associate in the Department of Learning and Leadership at UCL Institute of Education. “Schools [can’t] make up for everything else that’s going on in young people’s lives and schools can’t reverse massive inequalities.”

3

% respondents Canada

Denmark

India

Kenya

Poland

Singapore

UK

US

Bureaucracy

1

1

3

3

1

3

2

1

Poor co-ordination between government entities

2

2

2

2

3

1

3

2

Corruption and misuse of funds

3

1

1

2

Lack of funding

Entrenched interests/Inertia


3

3

1 2

14




Meanwhile, investments by one department or agency often go unrecognised by others, reducing the perceived need for collaboration.

the country’s multi-layered system of government, involving federal, state, county and city agencies.

programmes. “It’s making a bridge between traditional development activities and those with global public good,” she explains.

Ford Foundation’s Ms Argilagos recalls that while at the US Housing and Urban Development agency, though investments in housing also helped improve healthcare and education, these improvements were rarely acknowledged. “We weren’t getting any recognition, either from those ministries or from Congress in our budgets,” she says. Reflecting this, survey respondents cite poor government co-ordination as a key obstacle (after bureaucracy) to social and economic progress. Respondents in the US were the third-largest group to single out poor government co-ordination as a top obstacle and, strikingly, were the largest group to cite bureaucracy — perhaps reflecting the challenges of

As Casey Dunning, senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Development, points out, this is multiplied in developing countries such as Kenya. “Not only do they need to co-ordinate among Kenyan government authorities but also with [development agencies from] the UK, the US and Canada.” But some governments are beginning to recognise the need to address interconnected problems more broadly with interconnected strategies. Ms Dunning cites Feed the Future, the US government’s food security and nutrition initiative, which incorporates a strong focus on climate change. The Obama administration, she says, has embedded climate change and environmental programmes into many of the country’s development

Some governments are also linking health and affordable housing. In March, for instance, NHS England (the division of the UK’s National Health Service that serves residents of England) announced a Healthy New Towns programme; it will work with ten new housing developments to improve the health of residents and redesign the delivery of healthcare services. In Kenya, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is working with partners that include the health ministry and the ministry responsible for environment, water and natural resources to raise adoption of clean cookstoves and fuel to 5m households by 2020 to reduce the indoor pollution created by cookstoves and thus help lower the risk of respiratory illness.

“Not only do they need to co-ordinate among Kenyan government authorities but also with [development agencies from] the UK, the US and Canada.” Casey Dunning, senior policy analyst at the Center for Global Development


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Technology as a development tool Globally, policymakers recognise the role technology plays in boosting collaboration, transparency and access to health, education and financial services in both developed and developing countries. In the survey, too, technology emerges as a powerful lever. Nearly all respondents consider information and communications technologies (ICTs) to be important in meeting their governments’ goals in the coming decade.

Healthcare is also ripe for technological innovation, with mobile devices increasingly enabling patients to access health information, monitor their diet or levels of exercise and manage conditions such as diabetes. This is reflected in the survey—when considering where technology might do most to help meet their development goals, the top choice for respondents globally is its use in healthcare for monitoring and analytics to respond to health risks. And, overall, ICTs rank high among respondents as a “very important” lever to help improve education.

Policymakers see strong links between technology and specific development goals. Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative uses digital technologies to empower citizens to become innovators who play a role in solving social and economic challenges. Technological priorities by country

1

2

...Technology emerges as a powerful lever. Nearly all respondents consider Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to be important in meeting their government goals in the coming decade.

3 Canada

Denmark

India

Kenya

Poland

Singapore

UK

US

Healthcare monitoring/analytics for early warning and responses to health risks

1

1

1

2

=2 2

=1 1

1

1

Increased broadband access for job creation/entrepreneurial activities

2

3

=3

1

1

2

2

=1

An equal sign denotes a tie among responses

Big data or Internet of Things use for public infrastructure or services

2

=1 1

Real-time monitoring, analysis of and response to social or political unrest

2

Expanding the availability of and training on ICTs in education

=3 3


2

=2

=3 3

3

=3 3

Open data for environmental analysis Dashboards and other data visualization tools to track progress on gender, income and ethnic equality goals

3

3

3

3

16



Technology as a lever for social and economic progress Percentage or respondents who selected technology as a top lever

10%

Poland

37.8%

Singapore

37.8%

India 33.3% US 33.3% UK

31.1%

Kenya 28.9% Denmark 26.7% Canada

17.8%

20%

30%


Technology can also help countries overcome the limitations of poor physical infrastructure, with the mobile phone a tool facilitating everything from banking to agricultural information services for smallholder farmers. Respondents in Kenya, for example, are much more likely to point to increased broadband access as a tool for job creation and entrepreneurial activities than their peers elsewhere. “Kenya is an interesting case,” says the IIED’s Mr Norton. “You have the rise of Silicon Savannah and it’s really impressive what some of the tech start-ups have achieved.” Some reckon Kenya’s booming Nairobi tech hub could generate more than US$1bn for the country by 2019. Ms Dunning believes that technology plays a pivotal role in social and economic development, helping developing countries leapfrog old and go straight to the newest technologies, but also reaching society’s most marginalised. “Technology [will] better identify and connect these populations to services and opportunities,” she says.

“Kenya is an interesting case... You have the rise of Silicon Savannah and it’s really impressive what some of the tech start-ups have achieved.” Mr Norton of IIED


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The way forward: A three-legged stool In a resource-constrained and unpredictable world, policymakers may be tempted to put national priorities such as boosting prosperity, healthcare or education ahead of global issues such as environmental protection or the free flow of goods and services. In the survey, for example, a minority of policymakers favour the removal of trade barriers and increased global trade agreements.

“It has to be a three-legged stool – economic efficiency, climate resilience and inclusion... If you take off one the legs, you’re not going to have strong, durable, sustained growth.” Ana Marie Argilagos, senior advisor, Equitable Development at the Ford Foundation

Given the intertwined nature of today’s challenges and the often-competing priorities of economic growth and environmental protection, treating development goals as single issues or as part of a national agenda will be less effective than working across disciplines and partnering with other governments and sectors.

powerful tool in meeting development goals. Moreover, decision-makers are beginning to connect the dots between overlapping priorities and finding ways to link investments in one area to advancing goals in another. “No one single department can meet any of these goals,” says Mr Sahan.” It will require broad-based collaboration.”

So, it is encouraging that respondents consider collaboration to be the most

This will not be easy. However, as the responses to this survey demonstrate,


countries clearly feel empowered to drive forward their national agendas. And for governments that can become more collaborative and flexible in how they use the levers at their disposal, delivering stability and prosperity may be achievable. “It has to be a threelegged stool—economic efficiency, climate resilience and inclusion,” says Ms Argilagos. “If you take off one the legs, you’re not going to have strong, durable, sustained growth.”

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Appendix:

Survey results

Percentages may not add to 100% owing to rounding or the ability of respondents to choose multiple responses.

In your opinion, what social or economic goals will your country prioritise over the next 10 years? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% Creating economic opportunity

49%

Increasing innovation in industry

39%


39%


37%


28%


26%


22%


22%

Other

1%

Don’t know

0%

20%

30%

40%

50%

In your opinion, how would you rate the capacity of your country to meet its social and economic goals in the next 10 years? % respondents 10% My country has adequate resources to meet its social and economic goals

41%

My country has more than sufficient resources to meet its social and economic goals

30 %

My country has insufficient resources but strong political will to meet its social and economic goals

22%

My country has insufficient resources to meet its social and economic goals, and lacks political will

6%

Don’t know

1%


20%

30%

40%

19

In your opinion, which of the following levers will best help your country meet its top social and economic goals in the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents

10%

More collaboration between the government and other groups including businesses and non-profits on these issues

42%

Higher government spending on social and economic programmes

37%


35%

Increased access and use of ICTs (information and communications technologies) in these areas

31%

More innovation in these areas

31%

Increased entrepreneurship

29%

Increased government staffing in social and economic areas

23%

20%

30%

40%

In your opinion, which of the following levers will help strengthen the other levers of social or economic progress more than others, if any? % respondents More collaboration between the government and other groups including businesses and non-profits on these issues Higher government spending on social and economic programmes Increased access and use of ICTs (information and communications technologies) in these areas

5%

15%

20%

25%

24% 20 % 15%

Increased entrepreneurship

12%


11%

More innovation in these areas

10 %

Increased government staffing in social and economic areas

10%

8%

In your opinion, what are the biggest obstacles to your country meeting its social and economic goals? Please select up to three. % respondents

10%

Bureaucracy

53%

Poor co-ordination between government entities

45%

Corruption and misuse of funds

42%

Lack of funding

30 %

Entrenched interests/Inertia

27%

Poor use of or access to technology

13%

Few outreach efforts

13%

Don’t know Other Evolving development goals in an evolving world

20%

30%

40%

50%

2% 0%

20

In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its healthcare goals over the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents Lower costs for medicines or treatment for patients

52%

More efforts to raise awareness of health risks, prevention or treatment

44%

Better training or recruitment of healthcare professionals

38%

More cross-sectoral collaboration between the government and other groups on healthcare issues

29%

More innovation/R&D

29%

Increased patient/community/student engagement in healthcare

24%

Increased access to and use of ICTs for healthcare

21%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

2%

Other Don’t know

0%

In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its educational goals over the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents

Better recruitment, training and wages for teachers

45%

Expanding school/curriculum choices, including vocational schools

41%

Increased access to and use of ICTs in education

33%

Uniform teaching/testing standards

30 %

More cross-sectoral collaboration between the government, business and NGOs on educational issues

27%

Increased community engagement in education Universal pre-school education Other Don’t know


26% 23% 0% 0%

21

In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its environmental goals over the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% Tax breaks, grants or subsidies for clean energy investment and consumption

48%

More efforts to raise awareness about environmental choices and their impact

40 %

Increased community engagement in environmental issues

38%

More cleantech innovation/R&D

34%

More cross-sectoral collaboration between the government, business and NGOs

29%

Carbon taxes or cap-and-trade laws

29%

Increased access to and use of ICTs for data collection, analytics and information sharing

16%

Other

0%

Don’t know

0%

20%

30%

40%

50%

20%

30%

40%

50%

In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its economic prosperity goals over the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% More government programmes for job creation, small business development or entrepreneurial activities

51%

Providing skills development and mentoring to young people

49%

Tax breaks and subsidies for job creation, entrepreneurship and small businesses

44%

More targeted policies addressing priority areas such as immigration

27%

More cross-sectoral collaboration between the government, business and NGOs on economic prosperity initiatives

23%

Expanded efforts to inform the public of economic policy programmes

21%

Increased access to and use of ICTs for government programmes

18%

Other

0%

Don’t know

0%


22

In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its innovation goals over the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% More apprenticeships or work-study programmes

41%

Collaboration between the public sector, business and NGOs on R&D and innovation

39%

Creating policy incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies to boost R&D

37%

More focused innovation or R&D programmes within companies

31%

Increased access to and use of ICTs

27%

Prizes and grants to encourage innovation

25%

More innovation-focused clusters (industry-focused office parks)

24%

20%

30%

40%

50%

20%

30%

40%

50%

0%

Other Don’t know

0%

In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its infrastructure goals over the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% Higher government spending on infrastructure

50 %

More cross-sectoral collaboration such as increased public-private partnerships in infrastructure

46%

Tax breaks, grants and subsidies to improve infrastructure

38%

More community involvement in infrastructure improvements such as volunteering or advocacy

35%

More crowdsourcing of information to improve infrastructure, services or respond to failures

28%

Increased access to and use of ICTs for infrastructure design or construction

24%

Other

0%

Don’t know

0%


23

In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its equality improvement goals over the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% More awareness of income, gender or ethnic inequalities and their consequences

50 %

More community engagement in advocacy or volunteering on inequality issues

41%

More cross-sectoral collaboration between the public sector, business and NGOs on inequality issues

33%

Subsidies, grants or funding to reward efforts to improve inequality

27%

More crowdsourcing of information to expose inequality and its consequences, or to share success stories

25%

Higher government spending

22%

Increased access to and use of ICTs to measure gaps and track progress in improving inequality

20 %

Other

0%

Don’t know

0%

20%

30%

40%

50%

In your opinion, how important will partnerships/collaboration be to meet your country’s social and economic goals in the coming decade? % respondents 20% Very Important

53%

Somewhat Important

36%

Neither important nor unimportant

6%

Somewhat unimportant

1%

Very unimportant

1%

Don’t know


30%

40%

50%

3%

24

In your opinion, where can cross-sectoral partnerships or collaboration most impact on your country’s social and economic goals? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% Public-private partnerships in infrastructure upgrades (government and business)

46%

Community healthcare and patient advocacy programmes (hospitals and communities)

41%

Apprenticeships/vocational schools/back-to-work programmes (businesses, government and schools)

40 %

Partnerships between communities, business and schools to expand school choice

33%

Environmental education programmes (NGOs and schools)

28%

Closed-loop recycling programmes (business, government and communities)

22%

Inequality advocacy (business and communities)

21%

Don’t know

1%

Other

0%

20%

30%

40%

50%

In your opinion, how important will technology be to meet your government/ organisation’s social and economic goals in the coming decade? % respondents 10% Very Important

58%

Somewhat Important

36%


4%


1%

Don’t know

1%


20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

25

In your opinion, where can technology most impact your country’s social and economic goals? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% Healthcare monitoring/analytics for early warning and responses to health risks

53%

Increased broadband access for job creation/entrepreneurial activities

40 %

Big data or Internet of Things use for public infrastructure or services

33%

Real-time monitoring, analysis of and response to social or political unrest

31%

Expanding the availability of and training on ICTs in education

28%

Open data for environmental analysis

23%

Dashboards and other data visualization tools to track progress on gender, income and ethnic equality goals

22%

Don’t know

0%

Other

0%

20%

30%

40%

50%

In your opinion, how important will awareness-building be to meet your government/ organisation’s social and economic objectives in the coming decade? % respondents 10% Very Important

34%

Somewhat Important

45%


18%


2%

Very unimportant

1%


20%

30%

40%

26

In your opinion, where can awareness-building most impact your country’s social and economic goals? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% Educating communities and businesses about the impacts of their actions and environmental stewardship opportunities

48%

Raising awareness about unhealthy choices and promoting healthy alternatives

48%

Publicising job and income generating opportunities at schools and organisations

37%

Informing communities about the payoffs of high-quality education and creative learning methods

36%

Shining a light on the social and economic consequences of income, gender or ethnic inequalities and quantifying the social and economic benefits of diversity

36%

Disseminating information about infrastructure improvements so that communities benefit

24%

Other Don’t know

20%

30%

40%

50%

40%

50%

0% 0%

What institutional support would best help your department carry out its mission? Please select up to three. % respondents 10% Increased funding

32%

Better collaboration/shared services between agencies/departments

29%

Focused training and development

28%

Longer-term planning and implementation

28%

Clearer objectives and targets

27%

More staff

25%

Sharper strategic thinking

24%

More political support from senior leaders

18%

More input from citizens

17%

Better access to ICTs

15%

Other

0%

Don’t know

0%


20%

30%

27

In your opinion, which of the following external/global factors would best help your country meet its social and economic goals? Please select up to three. % respondents Addressing demographic challenges, such as aging populations or immigration

44%

More collaboration between national or local governments in my region

40 %

More financing and support from the private sector

33%

Removing trade barriers

30 %

Data collection and knowledge sharing across borders

30 %

More global trade agreements

28%

Greater assistance and funding from donors, philanthropists or multilateral banks

19%

Other

0%

Don’t know

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its infrastructure goals over the next decade? Please select up to three. % respondents

Data analytics

38%

Internal assessment

37%

Benchmarking against policy goals, promises from officials or the achievements or progress of similar countries

34%

Citizens’ input into the process

25%

External assessment by NGOs through programmes like the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, World Economic Forum, City Protocol, or OECD measures

23%

External assessment by consultancies

23% 1%

None

3%

Don’t know

With which country is the organisation you work for affiliated

Geographic coverage of participating organisations

Position of participants % respondents

% respondents

% respondents

13%

13%

13%

13%

73% Civil Servant

Canada Denmark

13%

Poland

13%

Singapore

India

Kenya

13%

13%

UK

US


17%

42.2%

33.3%

Appointed Official

Federal/national

Local including county or municipal

10%

24.4%

Elected Official

State/ provincial

28

Main functional roles of respondents % respondents General management

25%

IT

19%

Policy/Programme development

14%

Operations and production

11%

Human resources

10 %

Finance

9%

Serving a constituency/citizens/members

9%

Legal/Procurement

6%

Strategy development

6%

R&D

5%

Information and research

4%

Supply chain management

4%

Risk

3%

Legislator

2%

Marketing

2%

Other

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

Primary focus of respondent organisations % respondents Education & Training

8%

Healthcare & wellbeing

8%

Banking, finance or treasury

7%

Agriculture

6%

Commerce & trade

6%

Employment & entrepreneurship

6%

Energy & utilities

6%

Environmental protection

6%

Housing

6%

Law & order

6%

Technology & communications

6%

Transportation & infrastructure

6%

Youth

6%

Women or other minority

6%

Military & security

5%

Arts & recreation

4%

Water & sanitation

4%

Other

2%


29

Evolving development goals in an evolving world

Evolving development goals in an evolving world

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