The Role of Private–Public Partnerships in the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals: Experience from the SDG Fund

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that the achievement of sustainable development is a shared responsibility among all countries and among all actors from the public and the private sectors. How the world would look like in 2030 will greatly depend on how different development actors come together, and how they find new ways of partnering. The SDG Fund supports the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development by implementing the innovative joint programmes and focuses on public–private partnerships to accelerate the achievement of SDGs in more than 20 countries. The SDG Fund promotes the universality of action where all actors need to play a role by engaging two new actors that are gaining new ground with the SDGs: private sector and universities. The goal of this paper is to analyze the experience of the SDG Fund to accelerate progress towards the SDGs through the partnerships with new development actors. The paper will analyze the innovative approach to work with new partners (private sector and universities) and their contribution to the SDGs. The methodology of this paper is based on case study analysis of innovative on-going joint programmes of the SDG Fund in three countries: Peru, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka. Private sector has a critical role to play in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs by promoting public–private partnerships, social investments and corporate social responsibility. Promotion of greater participation of universities for the achievement of the SDGs through their involvement in development projects is another initiative of the SDG Fund. Under the universality approach, the main objective of the SDG Fund is to bring together UN agencies, national governments, civil society, and academia as well as business to address the challenges of sustainable development. Results from monitoring reports of the SDG Fund in Peru, Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone demonstrated how integrated efforts of new development actors can contribute towards a common goal. Through public–private partnerships, the private sector and universities are directly involved in carrying out important programme activities to increase the ownership and sustainability of development results. Practical examples and success stories of the SDG Fund working with the private sector and universities clearly demonstrate that participation of these actors has tremendous potential to contribute to the SDGs. Moreover, the contributions of these development actors, according to their area of competence, expertise and capacity, increase national ownership and sustainability of results. The findings of qualitative analysis suggest that there is a need to continue engaging new partners and pilot innovative initiatives of the SDG Fund have high potential to be replicated and scaled up. Therefore, the SDG Fund has a unique role in the transformation of the international partnerships landscape by bringing new actors to support sustainable development activities. This paper will be useful to academics, researchers and development practitioners around the world to raise awareness about the universality of the 2030 agenda and the role of the private sector and universities to play in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs.