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If you are reading this blog chances are you work in development, so you might know something about the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If you work for the United Nations, like we do, you might be able to identify a few of the 17 goals and maybe a few of their 169 targets. You might also be aware of the importance of the new agenda or, as the UN Secretary-General’s says - the SDGs are THE plan: there is no ‘Plan B’ because we do not have a ‘Planet B'!

As world leaders committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) young Ugandans in the Northern town of Lira celebrated. They celebrated the launch of the SDGs and especially of Goal #16: to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. An important goal for youth in Lira, as the North of the country now knows peace after decades of civil war.

2016 is a unique, exciting time for the global development agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are now underway and UN country teams face the huge task of implementing them. So, who will get the best outcomes by 2030? My money is on countries that use strategic foresight. This blog will explain why, and how.

We are always running these days, as we are constantly on the move. We run to catch the bus, run to get a coffee, or run with a coffee to make an appointment.

For months the trumpets sounded and the drums beat on a new milestone in UN development -- a beautiful baby, called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was born. It's neither a boy nor a girl,  it’s gender balanced -- a small step for men, but a giant leap for mankind.

Administration, planning, and foresight are three siblings of varying age with different familial responsibilities.

As a child, my mother took me to the doctor because I was limping. There she learned, to her relief, that my only problem was my shoes were too small.

By Magdy Martínez-Solimán, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP | Omar Abdi, UN Assistant

Organizing information, understanding trends and making strategic decisions based on data is becoming an inexorable necessity. Many initiatives have highlighted the importance of using data to conceptualize and implement more effective development strategies: the Independent Expert Advisory Group’s report A World that Counts: Mobilizing the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Solution Network’s report Data for Development are just two examples showing that there is no way back from data in our field of work.

Results, results, results. The age old monitoring and evaluation question: how do you [actually] draw a connection between transformational changes in the lives of people and the development projects that aim to help them?