The UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals are failing not from lack of effort but from design flaws that violate basic strategic planning principles. With six years left, a missed deadline could poison future global collaboration. The speakers argue for a hard reset of the entire framework.
The problem with the Sustainable Development Goals : why they lack rigorous strategic thinking but can still be rescued.
Here's someone who is aware of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals announced in 2015 by the United Nations. Their value is not in question. They are objectives the entire world hopes to realize. But recently, Secretary-General António Guterres declared that the SDGs are on the path to failure. Launching a special edition of the Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report, he warned that their collective promise made in 2015 of a more green, just, and equitable global future is in peril.
Quote: Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been, he said.
Like others, he offered a number of prescriptions.
However, they aren't likely to move the needle on disappointment looming on December 31, 2030, the date on which they are supposed to be achieved.
Those of us who know about long-term strategic planning are horrified by the lack of progress, similar to everyone else.
But for us, there's more. This failure was inevitable due to fatal design flaws. By violating the fundamental principles of our narrow discipline, the UN cannot avoid the unfortunate situation it finds itself in. Despite the tireless work by thousands of well-meaning people, a slow-moving disaster is taking place in real time. However, with 6 years to go between 2023 and 2030, There is a vanishing opportunity to declare victory at the end of the decade. How?
Continue reading to understand why a "hard reset" could save the world from disillusionment. Why the Urgency? As I mentioned, Guterres has been quite clear that the targets will be missed if something isn't done. At this rate, we can expect that in January 2031, some will publicly declare the effort a failure. Others will ignore the project altogether and hope people forget. A few will try to gaslight us to believe that failed goals were actually hit.
However, I have a bigger fear. I'm afraid that the world will take away the wrong lesson about planning itself, such as the conclusion that Big Hairy Audacious Goals don't work, or that nations joining together is a waste of time, or that long-term thinking is a mistake.
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