Now that the world has agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which serve as a global ‘to-do-list’ for people, planet and prosperity, there is an enormous task ahead of us to realize this ambition. As one of the leaders of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC), the Netherlands sees a pivotal role for the Partnership in fostering effective delivery of results, and being a driver of behavioral change related to the how of achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The GPEDC wants to further develop its role as a knowledge hub that brings together relevant stakeholders, stimulating mutual learning and promoting effective implementation of the SDG agenda. The GPEDC provides an open platform for discussions on experiences at the country level and motivates a range of partners to move towards more effective action for genuine, inclusive development. One example was an event organized by the GPEDC and UNWomen—held on the sidelines of the recent UN General Assembly meetings—titled Using Inclusive Partnerships to Deliver on the SDGs: The Role of Gender-Responsive Budgeting.
This event focused on the rising issue of how to effectively incorporate gender-responsive budgeting into national policies, thus tackling issues related to persistent gender-inequality. A diverse range of stakeholders attended the event, including actors from the private sector, UN-institutions, and government representatives. There were three important takeaways directly deriving from the dynamic discussion among the participants. First of all, it is important to note that gender-responsive budgeting be fully integrated and operationalized within national policies. Thus, as the process of Financing for Development uncovered, there still exists a misunderstanding about the concept and implementation of gender-responsive budgeting among responsible government bodies (most notably Ministries of Finance). Shared understanding and acknowledgement of certain thresholds is needed to create effective cooperation and ultimately synergy between all involved.
Secondly, a firm political commitment is needed to effectively implement policies on gender-responsive budgeting. National governments play a critical role in setting up and facilitating this process. However, all stakeholders, including women themselves, need to be involved in creating the structural foundation for commitments. New partnerships need to be established: between traditional and new donors, and between donors and non-state actors including the private sector, civil society, philanthropy, and others. If we want to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth, we need to combine public and private flows, as well as public and private thinking power and implementation capacity. The GPEDC promotes such new partnerships and it is our ambition to be a leading knowledge hub for exchanging ideas and policies to strengthen the quality of development cooperation and partnerships in support of achieving the SDGs.
The Global Partnership, with its open and inclusive character, is well positioned to discuss ‘sticky issues’, such as the implementation of policies on gender responsive budgeting, as well as issues of fragility, middle income countries, youth (such as unemployment), trade and tax. The number of low-income countries is falling, but the level of inequality within many countries is rising. New donors, both countries and non-state actors, have entered the scene. Although aid remains essential for the poorest countries, the 2030 agenda needs new approaches to achieve its targets.
It is in this spirit that the GPEDC organized this side-event on gender responsive budgeting: to facilitate discussion and enable all parties to share lessons learned in a multi-stakeholder setting to improve results. We are eager to continue our endeavor in promoting effective and inclusive development through cross-sector dialogue.
Mr. Jeroen Verheul is Special Envoy to the Co-chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation for the Netherlands.