Frontier technologies carry a promise to fast track the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through supporting innovative, forwarding-looking policies and solutions. There are, however, numerous risks and complexities of digital technologies that come along with those opportunities, as well as policy and regulatory challenges. In recent years, relatively new approaches of policy experimentation and regulatory sandboxes have emerged among countries, and have proven to be effective in creating a more conducive and contained space where governments, in partnerships with relevant stakeholders, can experiment and trial with digital technologies and innovations at the edge or even outside of the existing policy space and regulatory framework. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only brought about unprecedented challenges to sustainable development, but have also accelerated digital government and digital transformation in many areas.  At the same time, the pandemic has exposed harsh fragilities and digital divides especially for countries in special situations. The objective of this Project is to enhance the institutional capacity of selected countries in special situations, namely the: (i)  least developed countries (LDCs); (ii) landlocked developing countries (LLDC); and (iii) small island developing States (SIDS), to understand and develop policy experimentation and/or regulatory sandboxes on new technologies as an innovative and catalytic approach to accelerate the progress of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  The evidence of the result, if achieved, will include target countries having demonstrated ability to identify and establish the means for policy experimentation and/or regulatory sandboxes, that may also translate into policy documents or implementation strategies, in draft or working versions, including through multi-stakeholder engagement with the private sector and the civil society.  The project will be jointly implemented by the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division (IDD) of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).  

The project aims at enhancing the capacity of the target groups in the following selected countries in Africa: Angola, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe to engage in constructive policy dialogues and/or participatory mechanisms, with a view to develop strategies and initiatives to advance inclusive development and SDG achievement for indigenous peoples in the framework of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Through capacity building of both national and local governments and indigenous leaders, the project aims to promote the participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making processes at all levels, with a special focus at the local level, where the most vulnerable indigenous peoples live. The project also intends to enhance the capacity of governments to develop and implement policies, programmes and legislation that recognize and respect indigenous peoples’ development priorities and rights, that include their full and effective participation in national socio-economic development policies, enhancing dialogue mechanisms among indigenous peoples, the government and UNCTs. The project also aims to strengthen the capacities of stakeholders in targeted countries to engage in those processes, as well as to work in the implementation of national action plans, policies and measures on the Declaration.

The project helped to strengthen the capacity of selected developing countries in Africa and Asia to measure, monitor and report progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Post-2015 Development Agenda. The project activities will result in conducted national dialogues and meetings among and between policy makers, data producers/statisticians and other data users on SDGs/post-2015 monitoring; assessment of the statistical capacities for SDGs/post-2015 monitoring and reporting concluded by the project countries; identification, by the project countries key stakeholders, of the priority areas of statistics to be further developed, and conduct of an assessment of capacity gaps and needs; developement of an implementation plan (or roadmap) for the development of the statistical capacity required for SDG/post-2015 monitoring and reporting, detailing priorities, possible actions, resource and funding requirements as well as the establishement of national working and coordination mechanisms to implement the plan for measuring and reporting indicators of SDGs and post-2015 goals and targets.

The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of NTAs and MoFs in developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and in Africa to negotiate and apply double tax treaties, drawing on the UN Model, and to formulate inputs into the policy making processes influencing the way double tax treaties are negotiated and re-negotiated to the benefit of developing countries. The main focus of the first phase of the project will be the delivery of the UN Course on Double Tax Treaties with a view to increasing awareness and understanding of the UN Model among MoF and NTA officials of broad number of developing countries in the two regions. During the second phase of the project, tax treaty negotiators will strengthen their negotiating skills and techniques enabling them to conclude treaties, which would be beneficial to both treaty partners, through participation in the UN-OECD Practical Workshop on Negotiation of Tax Treaties. Administrators of tax treaties in 4 pilot countries will be assisted, through national seminars and follow-up country missions, with a view to implementing the necessary policy changes in order to enable a more effective application of double-tax treaties and thereby to improve the investment climate in the country. The third phase of the project will focus on institutionalizing this capacity development programme in the regions with the view of passing the ownership of the relevant knowledge and tools, as well as the administration of the programme to regional experts and regional tax organizations.

The objective of the project is to develop a standard methodology to produce, analyze and deliver a database of harmonized indicators on the situation of older persons in Africa. The project is the starting point of a larger DESA initiative that aims to assist countries in collecting and analyzing data on older persons in order to more accurately monitor the changing situation of older persons during the implementation phase of the new 2030 Development Agenda. The project will conduct a review of age-related data in three African countries, with the methodology to be piloted in one of these three countries. The survey-tool is to be developed in close collaboration with national and regional policy makers, statisticians and experts dealing with issues related to older persons in Africa. The experience of international researchers and academics that have developed and deployed such tools in Africa as well as in other parts of the world will also be drawn upon. The project aims to promote the participation of all relevant stakeholders at the national and regional level towards the formulation, monitoring and implementation of more inclusive policies that are responsive to the needs and priorities of older persons in the African region. The project further aims to develop survey guidelines appropriate for African countries based on a capacity building and learning approach. The intervention will further contribute to the enhancement of the capacity of government officials, scholars and civil society in sub-Saharan Africa to formulate, monitor and implement evidence-based policies on ageing.

The project aims at enhancing the capacity of the Indigenous Peoples in selected countries in Africa and Asia to engage in constructive policy dialogues and/or participatory mechanisms with a view to develop strategies and initiatives to improve their well-being and economic and social status, including through the promotion of social integration and inclusive development. The formulation, implementation and evaluation of the project respond to the principles upheld in the UN Declaration on the Rights of indigenous Peoples and other related instruments, both international and regional. Thorough capacity building of both national and local governments and indigenous leaders, especially indigenous women and youth, the project aims to promote the participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making processes at national, regional and local levels, towards more inclusive development that is responsive to their needs and priorities. The project also intends to enhance the capacity of governments to develop policies, programmes and legislation that recognize and respect indigenous peoples' development rights and priorities and that include their full and effective participation in national socio-economic development policies. This will advance greater cooperation, national cohesion, and improve relationships between indigenous peoples and governments while also reducing tensions and misconceptions. The project will establish new consultative mechanisms, and/or strengthen existing ones where applicable, such as participatory policy dialogues, between the government representatives and representatives of indigenous peoples utilizing mediation, consensus building, constructive dialogue, participatory and inclusive development planning. The ultimate beneficiaries of the project are the indigenous peoples in the countries participating in the project.

The objective of the project is to strengthen capacities of governments, scholars and civil society as well as youth and youth-led organizations in select African countries for evidence-based formulation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs on youth. The project will conduct a review of youth-policy related data in three African countries followed by national workshops to identify youth policy priority areas as well as data gaps based on the empirical evidence gathered. Further, the project will, in consultation with national, regional and global experts, review existing national, regional (such as the African Youth Charter (AYC) and the African Youth Decade Plan of Action) and global youth action plans and related indicators (such as the World Programme of Action on Youth (WPAY) as well as the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets and indicators), to identify suitable indicators for mainstreaming and monitoring the implementation of national, regional and global youth action plans and policies. The interventions will further develop recommendations on the application of these indicators for national youth policy formulation, monitoring and implementation and provide support to related capacity building. The project also aims to raise awareness on the use of youth indicators and support their dissemination to local youth policy makers in order to strengthen youth civic engagement at the local level. Critical to the success of the project is the active and full inclusion and participation of all relevant stakeholders, particularly youth and youth-led organizations in all steps towards the identification of relevant indicators and their application in the formulation, monitoring and implementation of more inclusive policies that are responsive to the needs and priorities of youth in Africa. Finally, the project will convene a regional workshop for project beneficiaries and additional countries as well as regional intergovernmental bodies, civil society, youth-led organisations and academia to engage in a dialogue to share best practices and to agree on a set of recommendations on evidence-based policies on youth to be presented to a wider audience in sub-Saharan Africa.

Progress of the Sustainable Development Agenda (i.e. post-2015) is conditioned in large measureby the ability of Member States to monitor, report on -- and learn lessons from -- theimplementation of their National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS) and assess theireffectiveness against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is thus critical for policymakers and other stakeholders to have access to effective statistics and data, monitoring andreporting tools, frameworks and systems in order to make timely, evidence-based policydecisions. Experience from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and a recent surveyfrom the United Nations Statistical Commission illustrate the enormous challenges for, andcapacity gaps remaining within, Member States, particularly developing countries, to establishand operationalize such national monitoring and reporting systems. As Member States movecloser to adopting the post-2015 sustainable development agenda -- which aims to besignificantly more ambitious in the number of SDGs, targets and indicators, compared to theMDGs -- many developing country Member States will need both capacity development andfinancial support to transform and enhance the capability of existing monitoring and reportingsystems and government institutions (e.g. national statistical offices). This project seeks toaddress these capacity deficits by supporting and assisting national governments andstakeholders to design and adopt integrated frameworks for monitoring and reporting onsustainable development progress, including the achievement of the SDGs. It aims to do so bydeveloping monitoring and reporting tools, guidelines, methodologies and case studies. Theproject will be informed by an analysis of capacity needs and gaps in the six pilot countries,followed with training workshops and advisory missions to assist governments to operationalizethe SDGs. At the end of the project, an interregional workshop for upscaling and sharing ofearly findings will be held.