EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
to meet them, and a role in monitoring their achievement at local level. The United Nations Task Team report urges flexibility in implementing goals in local contexts, stressing that there are “no blueprints” and that space is needed “for experimentation and adaptation to local settings”. The United Nations Regional Commission report notes non-income related disparities in the achievement of goals at local level and argues that experience has shown the added value of approaches involving local governments. The High Level Panel report, in particular, explicitly recognizes local governments as vital and positive stakeholders in development, pointing to their “critical role in setting priorities, executing plans, monitoring results and engaging with local firms and communities.” This report argues that “local authorities form a vital bridge between national governments, communities and citizens and will have a critical role in a new global partnership.” Urban poverty beyond 2015 The reports of both the Secretary-General and the HLP acknowledge the transformative power of urbanization, and the challenges it brings. The HLP report affirms that “cities are where the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost”, and implies that the ability of local governments to tackle urban poverty is crucial. The HLP report recognizes the scope and scale, and growing importance of city government responsibilities, arguing that “good local governance, management and planning are the keys to making sure that migration to cities does not replace one form of poverty by another.” Commendably, the HLP report also points out that “the most pressing issue is not urban versus rural, but how to foster a local, geographic approach to the Post2015 Agenda. The Panel believes this can be done by disaggregating data by place, and giving local authorities a bigger role in
setting priorities, executing plans, monitoring results and engaging with local firms and communities.” It suggests that one way to support local governments “is by recognizing that targets might be set differently at the sub-national level—so that urban poverty is not treated the same as rural poverty, for example.” Local development… but how? While the HLP Report notes the essential roles of local governments, it does not mention decentralization or specify how local governments can contribute. Here, as in many other sets of global recommendations, there is no recognition that local governments should be included in defining and making commitments. Scant attention is paid to the unique challenges that both rural and urban governments face in making poverty-reduction a reality. Goals can be universal but targets and indicators need to recognise both the differences and the interdependence between rural and urban contexts and the need for social and territorial cohesion. Even more worryingly, while the Panel recommends an international conference to take up the issue of finance for sustainable development, it makes no mention of improving the financing of sub-national governments. Local governments will not be able to fulfil their potential to contribute to the development agenda, if they lack adequate resources. Good governance: a newcomer in the Post-2015 Agenda Good governance, not included in the MDGs, has become a central issue in the Post-2015 debates. Over the last decade there has been increasing interest on the part of international agencies in good governance and ‘social accountability’ for service provision. The