Organization Brief
ESCAP

ESCAP

"Financing Development through Trade: Harnessing Digital Opportunities"

Summary: This policy brief highlights the challenges faced by Asia-Pacific developing economies, in particular LDCs, in tapping the potential of digital trade opportunities to finance sustainable development and discusses some potential policy solutions. It focuses on promoting domestic resource mobilization, fostering international cooperation, and supporting LDCs to participate in digital trade. The key recommendations include closing the digital divide, establishing coordinated digital tax frameworks, strengthening regulatory cooperation, and building digital-trade capacity for MSMEs and marginalized groups.

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Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; International Trade as an Engine for Development; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building 

ILO

ILO

"Financing Inclusive Structural Transformation"

Summary: This policy brief emphasizes the need for financing inclusive structural transformation to foster economic growth, create decent jobs, and ensure sustainable development. Developing countries face challenges due to limited financial resources, premature deindustrialization, and a shift towards low-productivity sectors. The brief recommends strengthening national public development banks, forming public-private alliances, and adopting tailored macroeconomic frameworks. These efforts, combined with social partner involvement and multilateral cooperation, are crucial to overcoming financing barriers and supporting long-term, inclusive development.

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Action Areas: Domestic Public Resources; Science, Technology, Innovation and Capacity Building; International Development Cooperation

ILO

ILO

"FDI for Decent and Productive Jobs"

Summary: Investment is necessary but not sufficient for achieving inclusive economic growth and decent work. The ILO MNE Declaration provides an investment framework for coherent and synergistic policies concerning job creation, enterprise development, formalization, skills development and protection of workers’ rights. Consultation with social partners can ensure that decent work is prioritized while also enabling enterprises to grow. And dialogue between host and home countries could lead to better alignment of policies and ODA to support investment facilitation for development.

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Action Areas: International Trade as an Engine for Development; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building

ILO

ILO

"Aligning Financial Systems with a Just Transition"

Summary: Addressing both social and environmental objectives is essential to mitigate risks and seize opportunities related to the low-carbon transition. A just transition requires supportive financial flows and enabling financial systems. Member States can support mobilization of financial resources for a just transition by leveraging public development banks, incentivizing the use of financing instruments that attract private capital, developing comprehensive sustainable finance frameworks that consider social and environmental objectives, and developing capacities within the financial system.

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Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building; International Development Cooperation

ITU

ITU

"Digital Infrastructure Investment: Collaborative Approaches and Mechanisms to Finance Universal Connectivity"

Summary: Linked to 70% of the SDG targets, digital infrastructure is a cornerstone for developing digital economies and achieving the SDGs. Yet, with 2.6 billion unconnected people, building the necessary infrastructure to achieve universal connectivity requires significant funding. Closing the investment gap necessitates optimizing traditional investments, while also identifying adequate financing mechanisms to improve project attractiveness and attract new investors. Multi-stakeholder collaboration is crucial for devising innovative strategies to bridge the financing gap, ensuring universal, meaningful connectivity by 2030.

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Action Areas: Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity-Building

OHCHR

OHCHR

"Human Rights-based Finance for the Environment"

Summary: This policy brief advocates for a human rights enhancing approach to financing for sustainable development, emphasizing environmental action that prioritizes vulnerable communities. It calls for mobilizing resources to address historical inequities, ensuring meaningful participation in financing decisions, and implementing safeguards to prevent human rights violations. It recommends reshaping international financial architecture to prioritize concessional financing for those most affected by environmental harm and establishing mechanisms for direct and equitable access to climate finance.

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Action Areas: Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity-Building, International Development Cooperation

UNCTAD

UNCTAD

"Strategic Financing for the Energy Transition: Addressing Challenges and Unlocking Opportunities in Critical Energy Transition Minerals" 

Summary: The policy brief emphasizes the need for a long-term perspective and a stable investment environment for CETM projects, highlighting the importance of clear government regulations. It advocates expanding the capital base in developing countries through innovative financing mechanisms and lowering borrowing costs via international cooperation. The policy brief also underscores the importance of a holistic approach to financing, promoting value addition and diversification throughout the CETM value chain.

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Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; International Development Cooperation; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building​

UNCTAD

UNCTAD

"Better Data on Trade in Services for Effective FFD Strategies"

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Action Areas: International Trade as an Engine for Development, Science, Technology, Innovation

UNCTAD

UNCTAD

"South-South Data to Inform Development Support and Financing Debates"

Summary: The momentum to measure South-South cooperation is growing rapidly, spurred by the endorsement of SDG indicator 17.3.1 and the voluntary ‘Framework to Measure South-South Cooperation’. Developed by the global South, the Framework aims to provide data on South-South cooperation to enable first-ever globally inclusive information on international development support by reflecting the realities of the global South. To unlock its full potential, significant support, technical training, harmonized tools, and targeted assistance, is needed for countries.

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Action Areas: International Development Cooperation; Cross-Cutting Issues; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building​

UNCTAD

UNCTAD

"Harnessing Science, Technology and Innovation for Equitable Global Development: A Pathway to Achieving the SDGs"

Summary: Integrating Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) into Financing for Development is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While technological advancements offer opportunities, they can disrupt growth pathways and increase inequalities if mismanaged. Key recommendations include directing technology to create middle-class jobs and labour-absorbing sectors, improving access to scientific knowledge and technological innovations through open science and flexible intellectual property regimes, fostering South-South cooperation, and mobilizing development financing, including Official Development Assistance (ODA) to close technological gaps.

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Action Areas: Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building; International Development Cooperation; Systemic Issues

UNIDO

UNIDO

"Scaling up Investments in Sustainable Industrialization to close the SDG Financing Gap"

Summary: Scaling up public and private investments in sustainable industrialization is a key to closing the SDG financing gap in developing countries. This UNIDO policy brief discusses how modern SDG-oriented industrial policies, complemented by innovative financing mechanisms and capacity-building, can play an important role in directing financing towards strategic investments and sectors, thus accelerating progress towards the SDGs.

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Action Areas: Domestic Public Resources; Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building​

UNU WIDER

UNU WIDER

"Lifting Each Other Up - Improving Skills and Capacities Across Tax-Policy and Administration"

Summary: To realize their domestic revenue potential, countries need research and technical cooperation. International organizations and bilateral donors provide essential training and resources to strengthen tax administrations and skills for policy analysis in government and academia. Governments in the Global South can progress faster towards the SDGs by partnering with experienced institutions. Technical assistance and research collaboration are key, with hands-on learning from experts. Collaborative efforts, including South-South and North-South partnerships, are crucial for establishing robust policy analysis and research infrastructure in the Global South.

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Action Areas: Domestic Public Resources, Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity-Building

UNU WIDER

UNU WIDER

"Raising Revenues to Another Level with Data and Modelling"

Summary: By grounding policy decisions in solid evidence, countries can better navigate the complexities of tax reforms and ensure that their strategies effectively support the financing of the SDGs. Administrative data and ex-ante policy modelling, such as tax-benefit microsimulation modelling, are indispensable in providing a full picture to policymakers. Data and modelling infrastructure should be public goods accessible to the government and its agencies, academia, think tanks and CSOs to enable an inclusive debate about the choices governments face when making decisions on tax and benefit policies.

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Action Areas: Domestic Public Resources; Data, Monitoring and Follow-up; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building​

WHO

WHO

"Financing the Pathway Towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC): Improving Health Sector Priority Setting"

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Action Areas: Domestic Public Resources; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building; Cross-Cutting Issues​

WTO

WTO

"Bridging the Global Trade Finance Gap: Empowering SMEs and Driving Sustainable Growth"

Summary: This policy brief addresses the $1.5 trillion global trade finance gap, which disproportionately impacts small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies. It outlines key challenges, including high rejection rates and compliance costs, and proposes targeted solutions such as expanding risk-sharing frameworks, strengthening local financial institutions, and promoting climate-friendly trade finance. The brief emphasizes the need for multilateral cooperation to close the gap, promote inclusive growth, and support the transition to a low-carbon global economy.

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Action Areas: Domestic and International Private Business and Finance; International Development Cooperation; Science, Technology, Innovation, and Capacity Building​