In response to the 2030 Agenda, many countries have shown renewed interest in national development strategies. The number of countries with national development plan almost doubled between 2006 and 2016. Yet, most strategies and plans do not have concrete financing plans to fund their implementation.
Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs) provide a framework for financing national sustainable development priorities and the SDGs at the country level. A country’s sustainable development strategy lays out what needs to be financed. Integrated national financing frameworks spell out how the national strategy will be financed and implemented. In 2019, the thematic chapter of the Financing for Sustainable Development Report presented four building blocks for the design and implementation of INFFs: (i) assessments and diagnostics; (ii) a financing strategy; (iii) monitoring and review systems; and (iv) governance and coordination mechanisms. The Inter-Agency Task Force was then tasked with developing toolkits and guidance material in support of country efforts. This, along with other useful resources and tools, is now available on the INFF Knowledge Platform, an online space for practitioners to access the information they need to implement INFFs, connect with other stakeholders and discover new knowledge and experiences from INFFs around the globe. An overview of the INFF concept, its building blocks and lessons learned from early implementers is also available in the INFF Overview Brochure.
In addition to the analytical work and related development of global guidance materials, DESA/FSDO is also supporting capacity building, knowledge exchanges and peer learning efforts in countries interested in pursuing INFFs in their specific settings. A new Development Account (DA) project ‘Toward integrated national financing frameworks’, with DESA, UNCTAD, ECLAC, ECE, ECA, ESCWA and ESCAP as executing agencies, aims to: i) help countries develop and implement INFFs to strengthen financing of the SDGs and mitigate the impact of COVID-19; and ii) increase knowledge exchange and peer learning among target countries, and strengthen coordination amongst UN partners on financing issues. The three-year DA project was conceived and designed to facilitate coordinated support for countries implementing INFFs.
