Sustainable Development Goals Framework Research Articles

Enhancing the Transformative Potential of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Abstract This work consists in a critical examination of an argument which purports to prove that unless the mainstream model which dominates the development industry changes, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will become a missed opportunity to eradicate poverty. The work is structured into three sections (plus an introduction and a conclusion) as follows: section one provides an overview of the previous UN policy agenda, the Millennium Development Goals; section two examines the SDGs framework as articulated in the 2030 Agenda. Building upon the latter, section three inquires why socio-economic growth should be the sole measure of human progress.

Is the global climate target feasible in Africa using bioenergy pathway? Evidence from a local perspective in Ghana

Bioenergy has been essentialised as an innovation in global climate mitigation efforts. Though the technicalities might be sound, the controversies in terms of uncertainties, land availability, and the trustworthiness of the technology cannot be disregarded. Here I argue that bioenergy and the different variants have little prospect of meeting Africa's climate mitigation targets as they are not grounded within the development priorities at the local level, especially within the framework of sustainable development goals and broader participation from below. Therefore, I highlight the need for the decentralisation of global climate decision-making, transdisciplinary sustainability assessments, and a search for alternatives, as they can offer an empirical basis for a better science-policy interface at all levels.

Interactions between industrial development and environmental protection dimensions of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Evidence from 40 countries with different income levels

Abstract This article explores the interactions between industrial development and environmental protection dimensions of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In consideration of the suitability and data availability, this article uses the SDG indicators 9.2.1 (manufacturing value-added per capita) and 12.4.1 (E-waste per capita) as the two indicators to reflect industrial development and environmental protection under the SDGs framework. Based on a cross-country data source, this article examines the correlation between manufacturing value-added per capita and E-waste per capita in forty countries across four income levels as defined by the World Bank. The results show that the manufacturing value-added per capita and E-waste per capita increase with the countries’ income levels. In addition, the positive correlation between manufacturing value-added per capita and electronic waste (E-waste_ per capita) becomes weaker with the increase of the countries’ income levels, and for high-income countries the correlation turns negative. This provides evidence to partially support the Environmental Kuznets Curve, which demonstrates the ‘inverted-U shape’ relationship between economic development and environmental protection. It also generates a number of implications on the monitoring and management of SDG indicators. In consideration of the interactions between different SDGs (including targets and indicators), a holistic, multi-disciplinary, and cross-departmental management and monitoring of SDG indicators is recommended.

J.Sachs, G.Schmidt‐Traub, C.Kroll, G.Lafortune, G.Fuller, F.WoelmThe Sustainable Development Goals and COVID‐19. Sustainable Development Report 2020Cambridge University Press, 2020. 510 p.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 to “end poverty and set the world on a path of peace prosperity and opportunity for all on a healthy planet” by 2030. This ambitious framework includes 17 goals (e.g., no poverty, zero hunger, good health, quality education, etc.) with 169 targets and 231 unique indicators. The SDGs have been widely adopted to guide policy makers in development efforts around the world, but they also have been criticized as too unwieldy and all-encompassing. The Economist (March 26, 2015) concluded that the “SDGs are unfeasibly expensive” and “are so sprawling and misconceived that the entire enterprise is being set up to fail.” Nevertheless, the SDGs are now an integral part of the global development movement and are often cited by advocates of specific interventions. The Sustainable Development Report 2020 (SDR2020) was prepared by teams of independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Bertelsmann Stiftung. It is separate from the The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 published by the UN. The project is directed by Jeffry Sachs, who was an advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan and Ban-Ki Moon in the creation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and SDGs. As in previous years, the SDR2020 presents and aggregates data from all UN member states to describe each country's progress towards achieving the SDGs and indicates areas requiring faster progress. Estimates of indicators rely on the most up-to-date data from variety of official and nonofficial sources. In order to summarize levels and trends in country performance, the report calculates indices for each SDG with a scale from 0 to 100 (worst to best). A country's overall SDG Index score and its scores on individual SDGs can be interpreted as a percentage of optimal performance. The overall SDG index score ranges from a high of 84.7 in Sweden to a low of 38.5 in Central African Republic. The report's central chapter summarizes global and regional trends in index scores, and appendix tables present two-page summaries of levels and trends for SDG indicators for each country. Besides struggling with a range of methodological issues, the authors faced the difficult task of succinctly summarizing a very large set of data (115 SDGs indicators for 193 countries). Unfortunately, there are few general findings, because the degree of progress towards achieving the SDGs depends on (i) country/region, (ii) the specific SDG, and (iii) level or trend. On average, progress since 2015 has been fastest in low- and middle-income countries especially in East and South Asia. Africa scores low but showed significant improvements in a number of SDGs. OECD countries, which have on average the highest scores, made only limited progress. The report provides a valuable but rather brief summary of these regional differences. A second objective of SDR2020 is to review policy efforts to implement the SDGs. This assessment is based on information gathered in new expert and public opinion surveys to gauge political leadership in support of the SDGs at the country level. Results confirm that the SDGs framework is increasingly used at many national and international statistical institutes and other data providers. The adoption of the SDG framework by policy makers is growing but more limited. The report's clear exposition in graphs and tables and the many country and regional statistics will no doubt be appreciated by policy makers and researchers in national and international organizations. However, the value of the findings is somewhat limited by the lack of current data for many indicators. As the authors discovered, most estimates are not up to date and a substantial proportion of the data points available now even have a year of reference that predates the adoption of the SDGs. This diminishes the value of publishing country-level estimates on an annual basis, as indicators for many countries change little from one year to the next. The report was in preparation when the Covid-19 epidemic struck. A brief discussion of this huge new human and economic crisis is included, and the authors identify which SDGs will likely be most heavily affected. The epidemic will cause massive disruption of progress on the SDGs for years to come, but it was too early to assess this damage at the time of the publication of the report (July 2020).

Local Government and Network Governance in the Era of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS): Gyeongsangbukdo Province and Daegu Metropolitan City in South Korea

This article aims to discuss the roles of local governments in the era of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a case study of Gyeongsangbukdo Province and Daegu Metropolitan City in South Korea. The study looks at the main official development assistance (ODA) policies and activities of these two local governments, and how these two local governments have adopted the SDGs framework. In doing so, this study has employed the approach of network governance regarding the establishment of partnerships between a central authority and local governments and between local governments and other aid stakeholders at the local level. The findings of the study suggest that local governments’ ODA policies and activities in South Korea are barely commensurate with recent norm change at the international level. Given this, this study argues that local governments in South Korea need to develop their ODA capacity building in order to be in line with international norms.

Invasive vertebrate eradications on islands as a tool for implementing global Sustainable Development Goals

SummaryThe United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets a framework of universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address challenges to society and the planet. Island invasive species eradications have well-documented benefits that clearly align with biodiversity conservation-related SDGs, yet the value of this conservation action for socioeconomic benefits is less clear. We examine the potential for island invasive vertebrate eradications to have ecological and socioeconomic benefits. Specifically, we examine: (1) how SDGs may have been achieved through past eradications; and (2) how planned future eradications align with SDGs and associated targets. We found invasive vertebrate eradication to align with 13 SDGs and 42 associated targets encompassing marine and terrestrial biodiversity conservation, promotion of local and global partnerships, economic development, climate change mitigation, human health and sanitation and sustainable production and consumption. Past eradications on 794 islands aligned with a median of 17 targets (range 13–38) by island. Potential future eradications on 292 highly biodiverse islands could align with a median of 25 SDG targets (range 15–39) by island. This analysis enables the global community to explicitly describe the contributions that invasive vertebrate management on islands can make towards implementing the global sustainable development agenda.

Nursing and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a COVID-19 world: The state of the science and a call for nursing to lead.

The World Health Organization declared 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife well before the world was plunged into a pandemic response to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Worldwide, nurses are advancing critical research and policy efforts to achieve all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nursing is best positioned to ask and answer how to achieve the SDGs over the next decade, and in this COVID-19 era. In this article, we summarize the state of the nursing and midwifery literature about the SDGs. Twenty-four publications met criteria for inclusion, with nearly half published in 2019. Findings emphasize a need for: (a) nursing curricula and training revisions to include SDG content and strengthen development of a future nursing workforce comprised of global citizens; (b) innovative and disruptive nursing research documenting advances toward achieving the SDG 2030 agenda; (c) nursing practice that operates within a SDG framework; and (d) responsive and proactive nursing policy development that foresees what is needed to achieve the SDGs. When the urgency of COVID-19 response subsides, the world will adjust to a new normal and nursing must be positioned to lead and contribute to micro- and macro-level efforts toward achieving the SDGs.

Using Social Life Cycle Assessment to analyze the contribution of products to the Sustainable Development Goals: a case study in the textile sector

PurposeEvaluation and monitoring systems are perceived as an effective tool to understand and improve the contribution of business activities to the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is currently a lack of guidance and support on assessing the influence that the life cycle of products and services has on the SDGs. This article presents a case study where Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) is applied to understand the social performance of a textile product and its potential contribution to the SDGs.MethodsIn this study, the link between the S-LCA methodology and the SDG framework was made at the indicator level, through a new classification of S-LCA indicators. This classification was aimed at indicating the positive or negative contribution of products or services into the SDGs. The method was tested with the case study of a man’s shirt whose supply chain takes place across five countries, from the cotton farming in China to the retailing in The Netherlands. The social performance of the shirt’s life cycle was analyzed through a social hotspot assessment (using PSILCA database) and a site-specific assessment following the UNEP/SETAC S-LCA guidelines. Primary data was collected for 6 different suppliers regarding 51 social indicators and four stakeholder categories (workers, local communities, value chain actors, and society).Results and discussionThe social hotspot assessment indicated high social risks on indicators related to the following SDGs: health and well-being, affordable and clean energy, decent work, and responsible production and consumption. These risks were mainly located in Bangladesh (shirt manufacturing) and Malaysia (fabric manufacturing). The site-specific assessment indicated different results than the social risk assessment, showing worse social performance in the spinning stage (located in China). Negative scores were obtained for every supplier in at least four indicators, including working hours, safe and healthy living conditions, and access to immaterial resources.ConclusionsThe results indicated negative social performance of the supply chain in most of the SDGs and identified points of improvement for the final retailer. The linkage of the S-LCA framework with the SDGs presented methodological challenges, mainly related to the different scope of the SDG indicators and the S-LCA indicators.

Mapping citizen science contributions to the UN sustainable development goals

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a vision for achieving a sustainable future. Reliable, timely, comprehensive, and consistent data are critical for measuring progress towards, and ultimately achieving, the SDGs. Data from citizen science represent one new source of data that could be used for SDG reporting and monitoring. However, information is still lacking regarding the current and potential contributions of citizen science to the SDG indicator framework. Through a systematic review of the metadata and work plans of the 244 SDG indicators, as well as the identification of past and ongoing citizen science initiatives that could directly or indirectly provide data for these indicators, this paper presents an overview of where citizen science is already contributing and could contribute data to the SDG indicator framework. The results demonstrate that citizen science is “already contributing” to the monitoring of 5 SDG indicators, and that citizen science “could contribute” to 76 indicators, which, together, equates to around 33%. Our analysis also shows that the greatest inputs from citizen science to the SDG framework relate to SDG 15 Life on Land, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing, and SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation. Realizing the full potential of citizen science requires demonstrating its value in the global data ecosystem, building partnerships around citizen science data to accelerate SDG progress, and leveraging investments to enhance its use and impact.

PENGEMBANGAN EKONOMI PEDESAAN DALAM RANGKA MENGENTAS KEMISKINAN DI PEDESAAN

The rural community economic development program in order to reduce poverty in rural areas is carried out with the development of a balanced industry, improving the structure of agriculture and programs to improve the education of rural communities, so as to maintain urbanization. The next program is to increase rural community empowerment programs by environmental preservation programs and strengthening of rural institutions and facilities and infrastructure. By realizing the horizontal top-down policy that includes rural communities, the government is only the general policy holder. Pilot project program by supporting rural production at a competitive level, by strengthening rural institutionalism and improving information and management for rural communities. Various ways in which countries reduce poverty and hunger through sustainable food production and consumption have been established within the framework of global sustainable development goals. This type of research is a qualitative study, where qualitative research by describing activities, phenomena, opinions / thoughts / views and documents, with data analysis techniques systematically compile the data obtained.

Sentinel-3 OLCI observations of water clarity in large lakes in eastern China: Implications for SDG 6.3.2 evaluation

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.3.2 of the United Nations (UN) focuses on ambient water quality, while water clarity simplistically and visually reflect water quality and can potentially support SDG 6.3.2 reporting. In this study, based on extensive field data and Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) imagery, a random forest regression (RFR) Secchi depth (Zsd) model suitable for turbid and eutrophic waters was established. With this model, the Zsd of 86 large (> 30 km2) lakes in Eastern China was obtained from May 2016 to April 2018. Additionally, the potential for applying OLCI-derived Zsd data in the SDG 6.3.2 evaluation was assessed. Of six common atmospheric correction (AC) processors (i.e., BAC, C2RCC, POLYMER, BP, MUMM, and 6SV), 6SV often exhibited the best performance except for at 754 nm (root mean square error (RMSE) ≤ 0.0094 sr−1, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) ≤ 36.27%, and mean normalized bias (MNB) ≤ 15.89%). The RFR model had higher accuracy (R2 = 0.70, RMSE = 0.13 m, MAPE = 33.43%, and MNB = 14.55%) and was more suitable for eutrophic and turbid inland lakes across Eastern China than the other available Zsd algorithms. The average OLCI-derived Zsd of the lakes in Eastern China was 0.44 ± 0.13 m, suggesting that these lakes are extremely turbid. The average Zsd of lakes in the Eastern Plain Lake (EPL) zone (0.45 ± 0.12 m) was higher than that of the lakes in the Northeastern Plain and Mountain Lake (NPML) zone (0.40 ± 0.17 m). The majority of lakes showed higher Zsd values in summer (rainy season) than in fall and winter (dry season). A simple SDG 6.3.2 evaluation scheme was developed based on the Zsd product, and only 54.65% of the lakes (N = 47) reached the “good” level during the monitoring period as a result of the eutrophication of the lakes in Eastern China. This study provides water clarity information for large lakes in Eastern China and facilitates the understanding of ambient water quality under the 2030 UN SDG framework as well as data and technical support for future SDG 6.3.2 evaluations.

Interlinkages between Indicators of Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from Seven Low Income and Lower Middle-Income Countries

In 2015, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by member states of United Nations as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. Up to date, the global indicator of framework of SDGs has 247 indicators (including repetitive indicators), which monitor progress of achieving the SDGs. The interlinkages and integration of SDG indicators have attracted attention from scholars and practitioners, however, there is limited existing knowledge of the interlinkages and interactions between SDG indicators in low income and lower middle-income countries.
 This article therefore uses data from seven low income and lower middle-income countries to analyze the interlinkages between SDG indicators 9.2.1 and 9.4.1, which monitors the level of industrialization and energy efficiency in manufacturing sector respectively. It is widely believed that higher level industrialization will reduce energy emission per manufacturing value added. However, the results suggest that beyond traditional knowledge, in the seven selected countries, SDG indicators 9.2.1 and 9.4.1 are positively associated with each other. A possible reason of this unconventional finding is the country context, as in low income and lower middle-income countries the manufacturing industries are usually not energy-extensive, although not technology-intensive either. This article also calls for holistic and integrated approaches to use and interpret SDG indicators in line with the national and regional context.

An Opportunity to END TB: Using the Sustainable Development Goals for Action on Socio-Economic Determinants of TB in High Burden Countries in WHO South-East Asia and the Western Pacific Regions.

The progress towards ending tuberculosis (TB) by 2035 is less than expected in 11 high TB burden countries in the World Health Organization South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions. Along with enhancing measures aimed at achieving universal access to quality-assured diagnosis, treatment and prevention services, massive efforts are needed to mitigate the prevalence of health-related risk factors, preferably through broader actions on the determinants of the “exposure-infection-disease-adverse outcome” spectrum. The aim of this manuscript is to describe the major socio-economic determinants of TB and to discuss how there are opportunities to address these determinants in an englobing manner under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework. The national TB programs must identify stakeholders working on the other SDGs, develop mechanisms to collaborate with them and facilitate action on social-economic determinants in high TB burden geographical areas. Research (to determine the optimal mechanisms and impact of such collaborations) must be an integral part of this effort. We call upon stakeholders involved in achieving the SDGs and End TB targets to recognize that all goals are highly interlinked, and they need to combine and complement each other’s efforts to end TB and the determinants behind this disease.

Can reporting enhance transboundary water cooperation? Early insights from the Water Convention and the Sustainable Development Goals reporting exercise

AbstractA notable milestone in transboundary water cooperation has been the incorporation of reporting both under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework and the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. Much can be gained from reviewing the initial reporting exercise, which took place in 2017 and 2018. The first reporting exercise has demonstrated that, while progress has been made in the last decades, the need to strengthen cooperation over transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers is clearly evident. Additionally, the experience of the first reporting exercise suggests that, although some adjustments might be made, reporting can play a valuable role in advancing transboundary water cooperation in the years to come.

Operational research to support equitable non-communicable disease policy in low-income and middle-income countries in the sustainable development era: a scoping review

IntroductionNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent a growing health burden in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Operational research (OR) has been used globally to support the design of effective and efficient public...

Integrating water-quality analysis in national household surveys: water and sanitation sector learnings of Ecuador

To respond to the global Sustainable Development Goals framework, Ecuador through the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) has been strengthening its monitoring system since 2016, specifically on SDG 6.1 and 6.2. The World Bank Group, UNICEF Ecuador Country Office and WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme provided initial support. Additional parameters were included in household surveys, including a water sample analysis to detect presence or absence of E. coli bacteria, and the SDG indicators were adapted to the national context. Ecuador collected water-quality data in two national household surveys in 2016 and 2019, including water quality at household's point of consumption for the 2019 survey. This opens opportunities to extend the analysis beyond access to safely managed drinking water services, toward comparison of water quality between source and point of consumption, and analyzing correlations with other parameters, such as handwashing with soap, water treatment, and safe storage and open defecation. This article describes the principal findings of the extended analysis carried out by INEC, as well as the opportunities to present the results for sector advocacy and decision-making purposes. This study concludes that alignment of the national monitoring systems to the SDG 6.1 framework provided strong evidence that water quality is the principal bottleneck in the water sector in Ecuador. Water-quality testing at the point of consumption was evidenced, as well as the importance of household water treatment and possible effects of other hygiene practices like handwashing with soap and open defecation on water quality at the point of consumption.

Values, sustainability consciousness and intentions for SDG endorsement

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between value orientation, i.e. terminal and instrumental values, consumer sustainability consciousness and behavioral intentions toward environmental-friendly products and its influence on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) endorsement.Design/methodology/approachStructured questionnaires were administered on 410 respondents from northwestern India. The two-step approach proposed by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) was employed to assess the measurement and structural models.FindingsTerminal and instrumental values influenced consumer sustainability consciousness. Sustainability consciousness influenced behavioral intentions which endorsed consumers' SDG. Instrumental value had a greater impact on consumer sustainability consciousness and behavioral intentions than terminal value. Consumer sustainability consciousness partially mediated the relationship between terminal/instrumental value and behavioral intentions for SDG endorsement.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings will help marketers to endorse SDG promotion by linking them with values and develop an understanding of consumers' sustainability consciousness for SDG implementation.Practical implicationsGreen marketers, policymakers and SDG promoters should develop messages to communicate and emphasize the importance of purchasing environmental-friendly products. From a functional perspective, it affects instrumentality orientation and societal responsibility toward the implementation of SDG.Social implicationsThe current study proposed an action-oriented, integrated, aspirational and universally applicable SDG framework. The findings may pioneer the way forward for sustainability-oriented consumption.Originality/valueThis research is the first of its kind that examined the relationships between value orientations (Rokeach, 1973) and their effect on consumer sustainability consciousness and behavioral intentions in SDG milieu.

Untangling the interactions of sustainability targets: synergies and trade-offs in the Northern European context

Agenda 2030 and sustainable development goals (SDG) are key formulations of sustainability policies, consisting of 17 general-level goals and 169 more detailed targets. The target setting is based on tedious international policy negotiations and compromises addressing myriad of different and sometimes incompatible interests. Identification of key trade-offs and synergies between the targets can help the efficient implementation of SDGs by improving the opportunities to focus policy attention and actions on the most relevant issues. This article focuses on trade-offs and synergies of nationally relevant targets in the context of an industrialised and affluent nation state. Results from a cross-matrix examination of targets in Finland show that most of the selected targets are characterised by synergistic interactions with other nationally relevant targets. However, policies aimed at advancing economic growth and the use of renewable energy risk a number of serious trade-offs. Methodological advances are required to make the assessment of interactions more transparent and reliable, manageable within the limited resources and capable of producing results relevant to decision-making. A recommendation for the use of cross-matrix examination as a tool of collaborative ex ante sustainability assessment is put forward, also acknowledging the risk of “paralysis by analysis” related to the wide-ranging SDG framework.

Operationalizing the Circular City Model for Naples’ City-Port: A Hybrid Development Strategy

The city-port context involves a decisive reality for the economic development of territories and nations, capable of significantly influencing the conditions of well-being and quality of life, and of making the Circular City Model (CCM) operational, preserving and enhancing seas and marine resources in a sustainable way. This can be achieved through the construction of appropriate production and consumption models, with attention to relations with the urban and territorial system. This paper presents an adaptive decision-making process for Naples (Italy) commercial port’s development strategies, aimed at re-establishing a sustainable city-port relationship and making Circular Economy (CE) principles operative. The approach has aimed at implementing a CCM by operationalizing European recommendations provided within both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework—specifically focusing on goals 9, 11 and 12—and the Maritime Spatial Planning European Directive 2014/89, to face conflicts about the overlapping areas of the city-port through multidimensional evaluations’ principles and tools. In this perspective, a four-step methodological framework has been structured applying a place-based approach with mixed evaluation methods, eliciting soft and hard knowledge domains, which have been expressed and assessed by a core set of Sustainability Indicators (SI), linked to SDGs. The contribution outcomes have been centred on the assessment of three design alternatives for the East Naples port and the development of a hybrid regeneration scenario consistent with CE and sustainability principles. The structured decision-making process has allowed us to test how an adaptive approach can expand the knowledge base underpinning policy design and decisions to achieve better outcomes and cultivate a broad civic and technical engagement, that can enhance the legitimacy and transparency of policies.

Global aid and faith actors: the case for an actor-orientated approach to the ‘turn to religion’

Abstract In this article, drawing on the work of the development sociologist Norman Long, I make the case for an actor-oriented approach to understanding the ‘turn to religion’ by global aid actors over the past couple of decades. I ask, is the ‘turn to religion’ evidence of the emergence of post-secular partnerships or are faith actors being instrumentalized to serve neo-liberal development goals? I argue that neither option captures the whole story and advocate that the study of religion and development needs to move beyond a binary between the ‘turn to religion’ as either evidence of post-secular partnerships or of the ‘instrumentalization’ of religion by the secular global aid business, and instead to think about how faith actors themselves encounter and shape development discourses and frameworks, translate them into relevant formats and strategically employ them. Alongside the adoption of an actor-orientated approach, I build on the work of Lewis and Mosse, Olivier de Sardan and Bierschenk to view international faith-based organizations (IFBOs) as development brokers and translators. This approach allows me to articulate the distinctive role that many members of IFBOs report they play as intermediaries who shift register between the secular development language and the faith-inspired language of their local faith partners. I take the engagement of faith actors with the new Sustainable Development Goals framework as a case-study to explore this.