makingit_18_pp42-45_policybrief_print 11/05/2015 12:40 Page 44
Networks for prosperity: advancing sustainability through partnerships By JOAQUÍN FUENTES, Strategic Planning Expert, United Nations Industrial Development Organization Any strategic partnership should be underpinned by a solid institutional framework. This concept will be particularly relevant in the implementation phase of the post-2015 development agenda and its 17 proposed goals. In this connection, strengthened global partnerships will be a catalyst for the international community to advance towards an ambitious and transformative sustainable development agenda beyond the Millennium Development Goals. Needless to say, international organizations, and particularly United Nations specialized agencies, will play a critical role in further leveraging the knowledge and resources of all relevant actors in order to maximize the impact of any development strategy at global, regional and national levels. Middle-income countries in particular need models of cooperation that better suit their development priorities and enhance their productive capacities, including through knowledge exchanges, better access to financing for development, environmentally friendly technology and capacity building.
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Partnerships and networks are therefore a major pillar for catalyzing and mobilizing action, and are the critical mass necessary for a tangible transformation towards inclusive and sustainable industrial development. In view of the centrality of partnerships and networks as key means of implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, the new Networks for Prosperity report, entitled Advancing Sustainability through Partnerships, attempts to advance the understanding of these new and flexible forms of global governance. This report also contains a new updated version of the Global Connectedness Index, which shows that the more connected a country is at all levels, the more developed that country will probably be at social, environmental and economic levels. Building on the conclusions of previous Networks for Prosperity reports, as well as the experts’ findings in the present edition, the report makes the following recommendations: ● The international community should encourage and prioritize initiatives and partnerships that promote innovation and knowledge networking among countries and industries as integral elements of any global and national
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POLICY BRIEF
strategy toward inclusive and sustainable growth and development. Network governance should be at the centre of the future international development framework, as a crucial means of tackling the complexities and challenges of today’s globalization and development landscape. ● Countries should consider investing in institutional infrastructure, and in