Political vision should come before technical practicality

On Monday, the 23rd of March 2015, government representatives will meet at UN Headquarters for five days of negotiations on the SDG’s goals, targets and indicators.

Governments should resist the temptation –particularly when looking at targets and indicators- to be restricted by existing quantitative monitoring systems and the current (and limited) availability of data.

Instead, Governments should set a truly transformative and ambitious framework, which will lay the ground for innovative monitoring systems, which include qualitative assessments for key SDG targets such as “policy space” and “justice for all”. Voices of citizens need to be heard to capture the dark corners of inequalities within and among countries and to channel the potential of a 'data revolution' without infringing on privacy or sovereignty.

The outcome of next week’s deliberations will be an important test for the credibility of an agenda, which is set to be universal and transformative and which aims at leaving no one behind.

Lastly, Governments should also be aware that such a universal and transformative framework will require independent monitoring by citizens and the support of the statistical community at all levels.  Thus, the setting of ambitious targets and indicators should be coupled by adequate funding for accountability exercises and statistical institutions, well above the current level of less than one percent of ODA.

Read the agenda here.

By Marina Ponti, Social Watch
@pontimari