National Level Indicators for Tracking Progress on PCSD

Tracking progress on SDG 17.14 “Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development”
– Translating the globalaspiration into national targets and indicators

Background note for the 11th Meeting of National Focal Points for Policy Coherence, 28 October 2016[1]

Introduction

Policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) is an integral part of the means of implementation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG Target 17.14 calls on all countries to enhance PCSD. The agreed global indicator to measure progress on this targetaims to capture the “Number of countries with mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence for sustainable development”.The 2030 Agenda states that “Targets are defined as aspirational and global, with each Government setting its own national targets guided by the global level of ambition but taking into account national circumstances”.The implementation of the SDGs consequently requires countries to adapt the global targets to their own national context considering their priorities, capacities and needs.

Against this background, this note introduces key considerations for tracking progress on policy coherence for sustainable development at the national level drawing on the guidance of the PCSD Framework. It does that by exploring diverse types of indicators available at the OECD which can help to assess complementary elements of policy coherence: (i) institutional mechanisms, (ii)policy interactions and (iii)policy effects.This note is intended to provide a background for discussion on “Developing national indicators for PCSD”at the meeting of National Focal Points for Policy Coherence on 28 October 2016 in Paris.

National level indicators for tracking progress on PCSD

Policy coherence for sustainable development – as other means of implementation for SDGs– is inextricably linked to processes and means, and there is no one single indicator that can track progress on PCSD. Tracking progress on PCSD in the context of the SDGs requires consideration of three inter-related elements of the policy-making process (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Elements for tracking progress towards PCSD

Based on these three inter-related elements, there is a need to take stock of existing indicators at the national level that can be used to capture:

Institutional arrangements, functions and capacities to formulate policies coherent with sustainable development goals (institutional mechanisms);
Ways in which policies across economic, social and environmental areas interact for achieving sustainable development outcomes, i.e. fostering synergies and addressing trade-offs(policy interactions);
The resulting impact of policies on sustainable development (policy effects – transboundary and long-term).

Different types of indicators can be used to track progress depending on the particular policy coherence objective or challenge to be monitored. The 2030 Agenda acknowledges that countries face different challenges to achieve sustainable development, thus indicators will not be equally relevant to each country. Indicators to track progress on SDGs will necessarily vary from country to country depending on their natural attributes, economy, institutional setup, administrative culture, and political and social variables. The same is true about the indicators for tracking progress on PCSD.

PCD Units in national administrations or central SDG coordination functions can play a key role, together with national statistics offices, PCD Focal Points and other stakeholders, to compile and analyse quantitative and qualitative information for tracking progress in PCSD. The OECD-PCD Unit can support these efforts drawing on the Organisation’s extensive data collections.

Tracking progress on institutional mechanisms

Achieving the SDGs requires ensuring that existing mechanism for policy coherence and coordination are “fit for purpose”.Process indicatorscan be used to illustrate if and how policy and institutional coherence for sustainable development is being enhanced at the national level. These indicators relate to the institutional arrangements, process and methods of work that are required for formulating, implementing and monitoringpolicies coherent with sustainable development goals (Table 1). For example, ‘government departments routinely incorporate sustainable development criteria in their programmes and policy proposals’ could be considered a process indicator. These indicators relate to political and legal commitments to PCSD; coordination mechanisms; and monitoring, analysis and reporting systems for PCSD.

Table 1.Examples of indicators for tracking progress on institutional mechanisms

Political and legal commitment / Coordination mechanisms / Monitoring, analysis and reporting

Public commitment to PCSD, backed by legislation

Position of the PCSD portfolio in the government (e.g. CoG, MFA)

/ Mandate and activities of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs)

Clearly established PCSD priority areas for SDG implementation

Inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms for ensuring horizontal coherence

/ Capacity to analyse policy interactions and effects

Strategic framework for ensuring coherent SDG implementation

Coordination mechanisms between different levels of government for ensuring vertical coherence

/ Adoption of an explicit whole-of-government policy for regulatory quality

Time-bound action plans for SDG implementation

Stakeholder engagement

/ Regular reporting on policy coherence to e.g. parliament

Assessing policy interactions

The SDGs represent an indivisible set of global priorities that incorporate economic, social and environmental dimensions and recognise their inter-linkages for achieving sustainable development. Ensuring progress towards SDGs requires putting attention to policy interactions across goal areas. This is essential to ensure that progress achieved in one goal (e.g. SDG on water) contributes to progress in other goals (e.g. SDG on food security or SDG on health or SDG on sustainable cities), and to avoid the risk that progress achieved in one goal occurs at the expense of that in another goalForexample, an increase in agricultural land use to help end hunger (SDG2) could result in biodiversity loss, thereby undermining progress on SDG target 15.5 (halt the loss of biodiversity).

Combinations of input, output and outcome indicators from diverse disciplinescould be used to capture policy interactions and trends, and identify areas where fundamental trade-offs need to be managed. Input indicators relate to resources including knowledge expertise and capital assets required to achieve certain outputs, for example, funds allocated to health care. Output indicators usually measure activities, goods or services that are required to achieve outcomes, for example the number of surgical operations. Outcome indicators refer to the changes as a result of a policy or programme that contribute directly to achievement of a sustainable development goal, for example, the reduction of the number of maternal or prenatal deaths during a given period as a result of those inputs and outputs and which contribute to healthier lives.

Once countries have identifiedcorrelations, synergies and trade-offs between economic, social and environmental values,they can draw on indicators that capture the use of resources, capital stocks or consumption, for example intensity of water use or forest resources. The purpose would be to identify how different sectors might be competing for the same resources, and gauge whether the aggregate demand for satisfying diverse sectoral objectives or human needs is within the constraints of the ecosystem. For example, the rate of deforestation due to agricultural expansion would provide an indication of land use challenges and potential trade-offs between agricultural, forestry and land policies.

The OECD can assist countriesby providing the data needed to assess policy interactions at the national level. Table 2provides some examples ofhow diverse sets of national indicators can be used to assess policy interactions among SDG areas, drawing on OECD data. Itfocuses on the six SDGs to be reviewed by the 2017 High Level Political Forum (HLPF).

Table 2. Examples of indicators for assessing policy interactions at the national level

SDG under 2017 HLPF Review / Policy interaction / Suggested indicators / OECD data sources
SDG 1
No poverty / Between SDG 1.1 to eradicate poverty; and SDG 8.5 to achieve full and productive employment
Synergy:Full and productive employment can contribute to higher incomes, thus reducing poverty. / Number of people lifted out of poverty (USD 1.25/day) as a result of an increase in the number of people in paid employment
Based on e.g.,

Poverty rate
Income poverty headcount
Income poverty gap
Labour force participation rates
Unemployment rates
Job quality indicators
Earnings dispersion

National Accounts Statistics
Employment database

SDG2
Zero hunger / Between SDG 2.1 to end hunger; and SDG7.2 to increase the share of renewable energy
Potential trade-off:Increasing the share of renewable energy could conflict with food security if food crops and biofuel crops compete for the same land. / Number of hectares of arable land diverted from the production of food to the production of biofuels
Based on e.g.,

Share of biofuels and waste in total renewable energy supply
Share of agricultural land area used for biofuels production
Support to agriculture
Biofuel subsidies

Producer and Consumer Support Estimates database
Fertiliser and biofuels support policies database

SDG3
Good health & well-being / Between SDG 3.9 to reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from air pollution; and SDG 12.c to rationalise inefficient fossil fuel subsidies (trade-off):
Potential trade-off:Economic incentives for fossil fuel subsidies need to be removed or reformed for an effective reduction in e.g. CO2 and GHG emissions. / Number of deaths and illnesses from air pollution / USD support to fossil fuels
Based on e.g.,

Population exposure to air pollution, share of population or average exposure
Health costs associated with particulate pollution from fossil-fuelled power plants
Fossil fuel subsidies
ODA to the medical and health sectors

Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels
Indicators for CO2 emissions
GHG emissions by source
Air emission by source

SDG5
Gender equality / Between SDG 5.a to undertake reforms to give women equal access to ownership and control over land; and SDG 1.4 to ensure that all men and women have equal control of land and other forms of property
Synergy: Equal opportunities for men and women imply the right of women to own and control land. / Hectares of land controlled by women as a result of legislation on gender equality
Based on e.g.,

Secure access to land
Secure access to non-land assets
Access to financial services
ODA to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment

Social Institutions and Gender Index
Official Development Assistance database

SDG9
Industry, innovation & infrastructure / Between SDG 9.5 to encourage innovation and increase the number of R&D workers; and SDG 8.4 to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation (synergy):
Synergy:Potential economic gains from the decoupling of support could be channelled into R&D and innovation / Revenue raised from decoupling (e.g. agricultural support) directed towards R&D and innovation
Based on e.g.,

Support to agriculture that is most production and trade distorting
Total public and private expenditure on R&D
R&D expenditure as percentage of GDP

Producer and Consumer Support Estimates database
Main science and technology indicators

SDG14
Life below water / Between SDG 14.1 to prevent and reduce marine pollution of all kinds, particularly from land-based activities; and SDG 2.3 to double agricultural production
Potential trade-off:Fertilisers and pesticides can contribute to increasing agricultural productivity, but when used in excess they are a main source of marine pollution. / Emissions of nitrogen and phosphorusinto coastal waters / USD support to pesticides and fertilisers
Based on e.g.,

Support to agriculture that is most environmentally harmful
Emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture into coastal waters
Pesticide sales in agriculture
Percentage of marine protected area

Producer and Consumer Support Estimates database
Fertiliser and biofuels support policies database
Environmental database
Agri-Environmental indicators

Considering policy effects

Here and now

Sustainable development, as well as the well-being of the present and future generations, depends on how a society uses its resources (economic, natural, human, social). The more sustainably and efficiently these resources are used and the better they are managed in the “here and now”, the more capital is left for people “elsewhere” on the planet and “later” for future generations.The “here and now” dimension covers the diverse aspects of well-being of the current generation, including economic, social and environmental aspects. Enhancing policy coherence for sustainable development and for achieving the SDGs entails considering more systematically the potential trade-offs between the “here and now”, “elsewhere” and “later”. This dimension of sustainable development is captured by policy interactions; consequently the indicators in table 2 coincide with indicators to assess policy effects here and now. These indicators are thus not reproduced in table 3.

Elsewhere

Understanding the transboundary effects of one country’s policies and actions on the well-being of citizens in other countries is fundamental for enhancing policy coherence in SDG implementation.The channels for such transboundary effects may include: financial flows/income transfers (ODA, remittances, loans); imports/exports of goods and services (economic activities “here” will impact on natural resources “elsewhere”); migration (“brain-drain”); knowledge transfers.

Capturing transboundary effects requires measuring economic, social and environmental externalities imposed beyond national borders.For example, support measures for fossil fuels often introduce economic, social and environmental distortions with effects elsewhere. Subsidies can distort prices and production at domestic level, but they also affect trade and competitiveness at international level. Subsidies contribute to overuse of resources and higher emissions with ecological impacts that easily spill over globally. Socially, these supports can redistribute income across regions and countries, with adverse effects on overall living standards and livelihoods.

Diverse sets of indicators have been proposed to measure the “elsewhere” dimension of sustainable development. These include, for example, the ‘footprint indicators’ which calculate the environmental pressure attributable to consumption in one country on resources abroad.

Later

Sustainable development requires balancing the needs of current and future generations. It entails considering the effects of today’s policy decisions on the well-being of future generations, as reflected in the preamble of the 2030 Agenda, and relates to how much economic and financial, natural, human and social capital the current generation leaves for future generations .

Indicators related to capital stocks can be used to assess long-term impacts.These include: economic capital (physical, knowledge, financial); natural capital (energy and mineral resources, land and ecosystems, water, air quality and climate); human capital (labour, education, and health); and social capital (trust and institutions).

Table 3. Examples of indicators for considering transboundary and intergenerational policy effects

SDG under 2017 HLPF Review / Suggested indicators
(elsewhere; elsewhere & later; later) / OECD data sources

SDG1
No poverty

Imports from Least Developed Countries (elsewhere)
ODA to Least Developed Countries (elsewhere)
Population with primary/secondary/tertiary education (later)
Employment rate (later)
Income inequality (later)

Trade Facilitation indicators
Aid for Trade Facilitation Interactive Database
Official Development Assistance database
Education Statistics
Social and Welfare Statistics

SDG2
Zero hunger

Agricultural support (elsewhere)
Food prices (elsewhere)
ODA to food and nutrition security (elsewhere)
ODA to renewable energy (elsewhere later)
Meat consumption per capita (elsewhere & later)
Food waste, litres/household (later)
Biofuel subsidies (later)
Changes in land cover and use
Agricultural land use as share of national land area (later)

Producer and Consumer Support Estimates database
Official Development Assistance database
OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook
Food Waste dataset
Fertiliser and biofuels support policies database
Green Growth indicators
Agri-Environmental indicators

SDG3
Good health & well-being

ODA to the medical and health sectors (elsewhere)
Migration flows (elsewhere)
Greenhouse gas emissions (elsewhere later)
Total number of deaths from ambient air pollution (elsewhere later)

Official Development Assistance database
Migration Outlook
Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels
Indicators for CO2 emissions
GHG emissions by source

SDG5
Gender equality

ODA to gender equality and women’s empowerment (elsewhere)
Reading performance, boys/girls (later)
Labour force participation rate by sex (later)
Gender pay gap (later)
Life expectancy at birth, male/female (later)
Inheritance rights of widows and daughters (later)

Official Development Assistance database
Gender Data Portal
Social Institutions and Gender Index

SDG9 Industry, innovation & infrastructure

ODA to economic infrastructure (elsewhere)
Foreign Direct Investment (elsewhere)
Indicators of international competitiveness (elsewhere)
Agricultural support that is most environmentally harmful (elsewhere; later)
Multifactor productivity (later)

Official Development Assistance database
International Direct Investment database
Producer and Consumer Support Estimates database
Productivity statistics

SDG14
Life below water

Agricultural support (elsewhere)
Support to fertilisers and pesticides (elsewhere; later)
Nitrogen and phosphorus levels in coastal water (elsewhere; later)
Government Financial Transfers to Fisheries (elsewhere; later)

Environmental database
Fertiliser and biofuels support policies database
Agri-Environmental indicators
Country Statistics on Fisheries