Achieving sustainable partnership in the United Nations in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Since 2015, the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) introduced a way to conduct international affairs on achieving global peace and prosperity. Despite the high interrelation of the SDGs, which links mandates and activities of different United Nations' (UN) agencies, making a strong case for enhanced inter-agency cooperation, few studies provide input on this issue. The research at hand closes this gap by studying literature on cooperation, collaboration and partnerships. Moreover, it considers recent UN policy and reform documents. Empirically, a thematic analysis of guided interviews (N = 12) and an online survey (N = 17) were conducted. The results indicated that the impact of the SDGs on cooperation was low, although representing a great visual tool. Success factors of inter-agency cooperation, communications, partners and resources were identified and restricted by lack of funding, personnel and clear strategies. By doing so, the research project seeks to contribute to a broader scientific discussion in achieving sustainable partnerships in the UN.