This post is written by Maryam Rabiee, Manager at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

  • The problem: A myriad of innovations has emerged in the last two decades. However, their application across different regions and sectors has been fragmented and unequal.
  • Why it matters: Innovation is a double-edged sword that can drive action toward a solution if exploited or become the problem, impeding progress for sustainable development.
  • The solution: Multi-sectoral partnerships can take advantage of the positive effects of innovative methods. They can enhance the sustainability of monitoring processes, and strengthen the quality and timeliness of data that is used to inform policies.

As the world spearheads technological innovations, are all countries benefiting from innovative means to inform, design, and deliver policies? The establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to create a prosperous and sustainable future for everyone, everywhere was a positive paradigm shift toward a global agenda. Yet, according to the 2021 Global Innovation Index, the geography of advancements in global innovation is not developing evenly or rapidly enough. Many countries in the Global South lag behind. The gaps between data producers and users, the lack of sustainable capacity-building frameworks, and the prioritisation of digital transformations over country-specific needs can contribute to inequities in implementing technological innovation in policy-making processes.

The production and use of reliable, quality, timely, and disaggregated data are critical to achieving the SDGs and lead to better-informed policymaking and design. Innovative data production and dissemination methods can provide timely information about current circumstances and trends so that policymakers can adequately prepare and plan for sustainable solutions. Researchers are developing a considerable range of new datasets that could contribute to monitoring many of the SDG targets and indicators. However, the gap between data producers utilising innovative methods and new data sources with decision-makers and other SDG stakeholders continues to persist.

Global and local sustainability challenges, and their solutions, are interconnected across populations, geographies, and sectors.

For instance, in 2020, as part of the Leaving No One Off the Map report, 10 National Statistical Offices (NSOs) were interviewed to identify their knowledge and awareness of gridded population data. When data providers combine information from censuses with satellite-derived geospatial features to redistribute populations across a grid of geographic cells or “pixels,” they produce gridded population data that can fill in the timeliness and availability gaps of census data. Only one out of the 10 NSOs were aware of gridded population products and their significance.

Narrowing the gap

Despite persisting disparities in technology access across different regions, efforts are being made to build capacity among local communities to narrow the gap. SDGs Today’s My School Today project is taking a bottom-up approach to collecting data on school locations in Africa that could inform SDG 4: Quality Education policies.

My School Today uses open-source crowdsourced data from OpenStreetMap to share national population counts within various travel distances and times from recorded educational facilities. The dataset offers daily updates that could help education ministries, statistical offices, and other decision-makers identify areas that lack access to schools and other basic services.

We are halfway through the timeline for the SDGs and the global community is running out of time to close the gaps that impede the integration of innovations that could enhance government performance and policy delivery. Three questions can help initiate the dialogue around a more inclusive integration of innovation in policy design and delivery:

_Is the approach sustainable? _

Whether it is the development of a model to calculate travel time to the nearest healthcare facility or a three-year commitment to help governments strengthen their geospatial capacity, it is important to assess the sustainability of these plans so that they are not conducted as one-off initiatives. For example, EO4SDGs’ Earth Observations Toolkit for Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements has committed to providing guidance about Earth Observations (EO) data and tools, as well as innovative approaches to integrating EO in national and city-level planning for SDG 11 and the New Urban Agenda.

Who is being enabled and how?

Global and local sustainability challenges, and their solutions, are interconnected across populations, geographies, and sectors. Enabling citizens, students and the youth, policymakers, and all members of society can play a vital role in the implementation of policies if they are empowered with the tools, knowledge, and collaboration spaces to engage in data collection, advocacy, planning, and implementation. The Ghana Statistical Services, for instance, relies on citizen engagement to collect data on marine litter for reporting progress on SDG 14.1.b.

Are these efforts country-led or innovation-led?

Technological advancements are offering rapid, quality, and intricate solutions that can significantly advance progress towards the SDGs. Many countries are swift in incorporating innovative methods in their policy responses. However, without a comprehensive understanding of country-specific needs, governments and international organisations might not have the right policies in place to make use of new technologies and innovative methods that could enhance knowledge exchange and cooperation for sustainable development.

The Data For Now Initiative supports country-led initiatives to increase the use of new and robust methods and tools that improve the timeliness and quality of data. As part of this work, Colombia has led the implementation of upgrades to the IT infrastructure for statistical production to ensure the delivery of timely, accurate, and granular data needed by policy and decision-makers for the SDGs.

The pandemic disrupted data operations and set back progress on reducing inequality, lowering carbon emissions, tackling hunger, and other SDGs at a global level. With less than 8 years left to achieve the SDGs, it is the responsibility of governments and SDG stakeholders to leverage the power of technological innovations to reduce inequalities in access to resources that amplify data-informed decision-making and revitalise global cooperation for our common future.

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