While innovation in the public sector is often overlooked due to its gradual and understated nature, it holds immense potential as a catalyst to accelerate the implementation of SDGs. However, it is necessary to broaden our understanding of innovation beyond just technological advancements and to view it as a new approach to policymaking, business processes, partnership and service delivery for enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in public sectors. Innovation does not happen in a vacuum. It requires a cultural shift within the organization and leadership, as well as the institutional setting, including promoting an enabling environment, cultivating creative mindsets, fostering strategic partnerships, taking calculated risks, and accepting failures. The project aims to build and complement the efforts of the governments in four target countries by encouraging the prioritization of innovation practices and fostering innovation experimentation in the public sector. Countries with innovation strategies or dedicated innovation entities within the government exhibit a stronger commitment to finding creative solutions to address today’s challenges and preparing for future uncertainty. While having an innovation strategy or creating an innovation unit is not an end in itself, it can provide a clearer roadmap for achieving the SDGs and position governments at all levels to better utilize their limited resources to promote inclusive development and create a resilient society . The project intends to enhance the institutional capacities of government officials in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam to outline a vision for public sector innovation in line with their existing national development plan or SDG implementation plan. The project will be implemented by the Division of Public Institutions and Digital Government of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DPIDG/UN DESA), in close consultation with the UN Resident Coordinator System and the UN Country Teams as applicable.

The achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs largely depends on inclusive national and local actions. The primary objective of the present proposal is to support the acceleration and scaling up of SDGs implementation and localization through the preparations of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) of SDG implementation in the target countries and regions and, through this process, to build the capacities of government officials at the national and subregional levels for effective SDGs implementation at all levels, including the subnational level and reviewing and monitoring of progress. The proposed activities will form a comprehensive support structure for the development of the VLRs and their linkages to Voluntary National Reviews in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and local governments in the cross-border Chaco region of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, in collaboration with the participating local governments and the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Offices and United Nations country teams. The activities respond to a direct request received, respectively, from  the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare of Zimbabwe,submitted through the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office (dated 21 August 2021), requesting support for the development of VLRs and from the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Paraguay (dated 28 April 2021), requesting support for the development of a Voluntary Local Review in El Chaco Region (Western region) and potentially in other interested entities. The Offices of the Resident Coordinator in Argentina and Bolivia have also expressed their interest in participating in the present project, as has Argentina’s Commission for Sustainable Development Goals. These activities will also be implemented in line with the priorities identified in the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks for each country.