development dialogue paper

no.25 | december 2018

Localising the 2030 Agenda

in Colombia

This paper describes Colombia’s process of localising the 2030 Agenda and its
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It outlines the main steps taken in
Colombia to mainstream and implement the Agenda as well as to follow up and
communicate progress towards achieving the goals. The paper is based on official
documents and interviews with selected national government representatives
involved in these processes.1 It is intended to facilitate experience-sharing among
governments and other actors seeking practical and successful ways to set up
structures for the implementation of the SDGs.
Introduction basis for Rio+20.Through dialogue, it managed to bring
Colombia is a strong advocate and champion imple- together different positions and to gather a critical mass of
menter of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Develop- countries behind this proposal that gave rise to the com-
ment Goals (SDGs). The country was active in the mitment to start building the 2030 Agenda. Following the
process of developing and adopting the Agenda and Rio+20 agreement⁴, Colombia formed part of the Open
has been a pioneer in localising and implementing it. Working Group set up to convene experts on various the-
Its engagement with the Agenda coincides with a matic areas and to plot a route towards defining the global
number of significant processes for the country. After a goals and targets. At national level, the Colombian Ministry
five-year accession process, Colombia was formally of Foreign Affairs launched a work programme with differ-
admitted to the Organisation for Economic Co- ent national government entities to coordinate negotiations
operation and Development (OECD) in May 2018. on the goals and targets with the various sectors of society.
The country hopes to be a strong co-operation provider The active participation of the ministry and the entities in
via South-South co-operation, especially on the 2030 the local discussions gave rise to the first technical inputs
Agenda implementation successes. Furthermore, presented by Colombia within the framework of the
Colombia’s peace agreement adopted in 2016 have negotiations in New York. In addition, thanks to the
significantly influenced the country’s progress in peace support of the United Nations and civil society organisa-
and development in recent years and affects its 2030 tions, a series of consultations were held across the country
Agenda priorities. to ensure that the concerns of different sectors of Colom-
bian society were taken to the negotiations.
Colombia’s role in shaping the 2030 Agenda
The Colombian Foreign Ministry played an important Lessons learned from the process leading up to
role in regional and international dialogues leading up the SDGs:
to the adoption of the 2030 Agenda.2 During prepa- • The importance of dialogue and the collective
rations for the 2012 Summit in Rio de Janeiro (Rio formulation of a proposal – embracing the views
+20)3, the Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs of many and diverse actors meant that Colombia’s
Department of the Foreign Ministry and the Colombi- proposal stood a better chance of garnering support
an Mission to the United Nations in New York began at the international level.
to raise significant concerns regarding the outcomes of • The importance of training and knowledge-shar-
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the ing within the country – raising the political and
various options for building a post-2015 development technical awareness among various institutions, min-
agenda. Some of the key points raised by Colombia istries and non-governmental actors, gave space for
included: discussion and learning based on the range of views
• the concern over unsustainable consumption and and different degrees of understanding of what
production patterns, the effects of climate change sustainable development means and the significance
and its impact on developing countries in particular; of a new development agenda.
• the need to integrate the economic and environ- • The need to establish an internal coordination
mental dimensions of development, without which mechanism for the implementation phase, which
the social goals would be unattainable or unsustain- paved the way for systemic change capable of
able over the long term; and transforming the current development model and
• in light of the above, the need to set sustainable building a new vision for the country.
development goals capable of rallying and building
consensus with other sectors of society, to broaden Creating the national SDG governance structure
the scope for transforming the current model of Drawing on conclusions from the international negotiation
economic development. process, seven months before the SDGs were approved at
the UN, Colombia had already established the national
The case made by Colombia in 2011 was met with High-Level Inter-Institutional Commission for the Prepa-
initial hesitation. It was thought that starting to talk ration and Effective Implementation of the Post-2015
about a new development agenda four years before the Development Agenda and the SDGs (hereinafter, the SDG
end of the MDG process might detract from the goals Commission). Colombia became the first country to have
set for 2015 in the final stretch. It could also undermine a mechanism bringing together the main national govern-
co-operation flows, complicate the climate change talks ment institutions in order to facilitate coordination and
and divert attention from social issues that had not yet enable the drafting of a roadmap toward achieving the
been resolved. SDGs. Leadership was thus transferred from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to the National Planning Department
Despite the hesitation of others, Colombia pressed ahead (DNP – Departamento Nacional de Planeación). A taskforce
with its advocacy work.Through an intense diplomatic was formed and put in charge of creating the policy
campaign based on technical arguments, Colombia aimed framework and mechanisms for the implementation,
at generating a content proposal that would serve as the monitoring, follow-up and assessment of the SDGs and
their respective targets.

2 development dialogue paper no. 25 | december 2018

 Members of the SDG Commission:
• the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
• the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit,
• the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development,
• the Administrative Department of the Office of the President of the Republic,
• the National Planning Department (DNP),
• the National Administrative Department of Statistics
(DANE – Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística) and
• Social Prosperity.

Permanent guests to the Commission:

• the Presidential Agency for International Co-operation (APC Colombia)
• the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (Colciencias)

The SDG Commission comprises the above mentioned In addition, the SDGs have constituted a tool for
government entities. The DNP acts as the SDG Com- integrating and ensuring coherence between the
mission’s Chair and Technical Secretariat, placing it in country’s various development agendas. One of the
charge of convening meetings and providing technical main activities of the Technical Secretariat of the SDG
support to the other members of the SDG Commission. Commission was to examine the degree of alignment
Working groups were formed to enhance and accelerate between the country’s priority agendas and the SDGs.
the implementation process, with individual SDG Com- The results were as follows:
mission members taking the lead for different groups.The • The National Development Plan incorporates
SDG Commission was also designed to reach beyond the 92 SDG targets.
bodies comprising it and is free to open spaces for the • Accession to the OECD contributes to 87 SDG
participation of actors from civil society, the private sector, targets.
academia, the media and the international community. • 86 SDG targets are linked to the Green Growth
Strategy (described below).
Lesson learned from setting up the • The Peace Agreement is aligned with 68 SDG
SDG governance mechanisms: targets.
• The body coordinating SDG implementation needs
to be anchored at the highest political level. SDG inclusion in territorial development plans
• Clear mandates and responsibilities should be DNP is not only tasked with including the SDGs in the
defined for the various government entities National Development Plan and other national frame-
participating in coordination. works but also with ensuring the harmonisation of the
• The flexibility to incorporate new members within goals at the two levels of territorial administration:
the SDG Commission throughout the implementation departmental (regional) and municipal (local) authorities.
phase is useful for ensuring stakeholder engagement. A couple of months after the 2030 Agenda was formally
approved, new governors and mayors were elected in
The main achievements of the SDG Commission and Colombia. DNP made visits to the various departments
the DNP in this process are reflected in the policy —departementos⁵—and municipalities to share
document, ‘Strategy for the Implementation of the information about the new agenda and the role of local
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Colombia’. governments in its implementation. In accordance with
Adopted in March 2018 by the National Council for Colombian law, the country’s subnational governments
Social and Economic Policy (CONPES – Consejo have joint responsibility for 110 of the 169 SDG targets.
Nacional de Política Económica y Social), the strategy sets The DNP developed an online toolkit to lend technical
out the national targets for 2030 and the strategies for support to the new local governments when formu-
achieving them. It is based on four policy guidelines: lating their respective Territorial Development Plans
1. monitoring and reporting, (TDPs) in 2016.
2. strengthening statistical capacities, The kit contains methodologies, tools and guidelines in
3. creating territorial strategies, and four modules, covering:
4. building partnerships and promoting dialogue with
non-governmental actors.

development dialogue paper no. 25 | december 2018 3

1. Planning: How to diagnose the positive and nega- created two key tools to assist the territorial authorities
tive factors affecting development in their respective in the monitoring and assessment process. The first is the
areas and formulation of the goals, indicators and Information System for Assessing Performance⁶, which
targets expected to be reached during their term in monitors the coverage and fulfilment of the TDPs at
office. product level, and Terridata, a data visualisation tool
2. Financial management: How to plan and pro- which establishes standardised and comparable indicators
gramme the budget cycle, ensuring that sufficient measuring the results in terms of well-being develop-
resources are allocated for the implementation of ment at territorial level (murder rates, education levels,
the policies. economic income etc)⁷. This will provide public servants
3. Monitoring and assessment: How to prepare, with access to more and better data to assist with the
design and implement a review system. design of public policies with a localised approach.
4. Focus on ethnic communities: How to
strengthen the autonomy of ethnic communities Lessons learned from subregional processes:
with the aim to improve their well-being. • Mechanisms to gather and use robust and reliable
information and data are important in order to
In addition, a DNP regional advisor was available during create subregional diagnoses and tracking that
the formulation of the TDPs to provide assistance and promotes citizen participation. This will allow
resolve any concerns raised by the municipalities and citizens to monitor and oversee the results in the
departments. levels of development where they live and promote
principles of legitimacy and transparency.
Once TDPs for the 2016–2019 period had been com- • Subregional toolkits are useful for ensuring the
pleted and approved by the respective collegial bodies, localisation of the SDGs and the scope of
an analysis was made of how and to what extent the responsibilities, capacities and resources of each
SDGs had been included in the plans. A sample of 63 municipality, which is also necessary to enable
TDPs (32 Departmental Development Plans and 31 prioritisation of investments with an achievable
Capital City Development Plans) was taken and the local SDG strategy.
level of SDG inclusion graded as ‘no’, ‘general’, ‘medium’ • The promotion of a collective vision of sustainable
or ‘high’. The strategic areas of each TDP were identi- development at the local level, especially between
fied, establishing the links between their programmes, neighbouring municipalities, is essential to enable
goals or expected outcomes with each of the 110 SDG joint goals and actions to be established, and to
targets applicable at local level, to identify the extent to improve cost effectiveness in the management of
which the SDG targets had been included in the strate- public services that impact highly on the SDGs.
gies set out in each TDP.
Mainstreaming the SDGs in
thematic strategies

Green Growth strategy

15 In addition to the peace agenda, Colombia is working
High level
of SDG
24 towards a structural change, adopting complementary
General level strategies built on the guiding principle of sustainable
inclusion
of SDG development. With this aim in mind, it has identified the
inclusion development of a green growth strategy as a key objec-
tive. This intention was reaffirmed through its participa-
30 tion in the OECD’s Green Growth Declaration, as part
SDG inclusion
in main of the accession process, and through its inclusion in the
strategic areas 2014–2018 National Development Plan.
Out of the 63 plans examined, the level of SDG inclu-
sion was found to be ‘general’ in 24 of the plans. In 30 A Green Growth taskforce was created at the end of
cases, the SDGs were associated with the main strategic 2015 with the duty to generate inputs and public policy
areas of the plans. In 15 cases, the regional or municipal guidelines to steer the country’s economic development
governments achieved a high level of SDG inclusion, towards green growth by 2030, in a comprehensive,
having directly linked the SDGs with the programmes, integrated and coordinated manner. This expert group
sub-programmes or specific targets set out in their conducted diagnostic and prospective studies to identify
development plans. the options for incorporating the green growth
approach into economic development planning.
In response to non-standardised target setting and mea- It worked with a view to:
suring approaches of local government bodies, the DNP

4 development dialogue paper no. 25 | december 2018

1. promote economic competitiveness, promoting linkages between Colombia’s science and
2. protect and ensure the sustainable use of natural technology agenda and the 2030 Agenda, especially
capital and ecosystem services, since it became part of the SDG Commission in
3. promote economic growth that is resilient to November 2017.
disasters and climate change, and
4. ensure social inclusion and wellbeing. Colciencias has designed a strategy, ‘the 2030 Green Paper’,
with a transformative approach, seeking to generate
A noteworthy aspect of the taskforce, and one of the new thinking about the forms and practices of public
successes of its roadmap, is the support provided by a policies on science, technology and innovation and how
consultant specifically appointed to coordinate between they can be complemented by the SDGs. Drafted after
the taskforce’s technical group and the SDG Commission consultations with researchers, public policymakers, the
Technical Secretariat. This work focused on alignment be- public and experts, the paper serves as a policy propos-
tween the targets set under the two initiatives. The green al for how national science and innovation initiatives
growth policy⁸, approved in July 2018, is considered to could contribute to meeting sustainable development
be a strategic tool for the task of meeting the set national challenges. The proposal follows five principles set out
targets for 2030 and targets of the 2030 Agenda itself. to guide the approach to transformation: Directionality,
Participation, Learning and experimentation, Inter-
Roadmap for international co-operation disciplinarity and Foresight. The main actions of the
The alignment of the country’s development agendas proposal include:
has also led to a transformation of international 1. identifying existing capacities for addressing
cooperation in Colombia. The Presidential International problems linked to the 2030 Agenda,
Cooperation Agency (APC – Agencia Presidencial 2. strengthening the conceptual foundations of
de Cooperación Internacional de Colombia) has established a transformative policy through analysis, debate and
cooperation roadmap aligned with the 2030 Agenda and research about the current innovation frameworks
the current context in the country, based on three action and approaches, and
pathways 3. boosting the transformative elements in the projects
1. peacebuilding, of eight departments of Colombia.
2. rural development, and
3. environmental conservation and sustainability. As regards to financing, the use of public funds is not
entirely designed to work with the concept of exper-
In addition, the creation of thematic funds was secured imentation, given the uncertainty of results. When it
for the post-conflict context, to focus international comes to local financing, the General System of
support more effectively on the implementation of the Royalties has a fund for science, technology and
peace agreement.⁹ This has led to a rethink of the innovation, which uses the STI Strategic Plans and
mechanisms for coordination between the funding Agreements to duly organise the resources in each
arrangements and the implementation measures. This department, with the support of the Departmental
new architecture makes it easier for other actors within Councils of STI (CODECTI – Consejos Departamentales
the country to take part in this agenda. de Ciencia,Tecnología e Innovación). This funding and local
support mechanism facilitates attention to the SDG needs
A change in co-operation approaches has been seen in the regions with exclusive resources for that purpose.
in recent years, with a higher level of requirements in
terms of outcomes, results and measuring impact relative Learning and innovation is crucial for SDG implemen-
to the resources allocated to the various development tation and, yet, requires some level of risk and ‘experi-
projects. Furthermore, Colombia’s application to join mentation’. Therefore new ways of thinking need to be
the OECD and its experience in certain development developed to meet the requirements of accountability
processes mean that the country could become a for public funds while also allowing enough space for
cooperation provider, exchanging successful innovation. Engagement with international networks,
experiences in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda such as the Transformative Innovation Policy Consor-
through South-South and triangular cooperation. tium, may be useful for conceptual development and
information sharing.
Strategy for technology and innovation
Achieving the SDGs is the responsibility of every sector Measuring capacity: strengthening the
of society. The contribution of science, technology and national statistical system
innovation (STI) is essential for social mobilisation in In Colombia, the National Statistical System
order to ensure that the whole of society takes owner- (SEN – Sistema Estadístico Nacional) is the body in charge
ship of SDG achievement. The Administrative Depart- of providing the state and society with quality official
ment of Science, Technology and Innovation (Colciencias) national and subnational statistics, in coordination
has played a significant role in giving visibility to and with the entities producing them. The National

development dialogue paper no. 25 | december 2018 5

Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE – National Archive of Statistical Data and Metadata.
Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística) In addition, primarily aiming at recording activi-
is responsible for coordinating and regulating SEN. ties that fulfil respective body’s responsibilities, the
administrative data collection does not always meet
Following the establishment of the SDG Commission, the requirements of statistical production.
a working group set up by DANE conducted an initial • Lack of coordination: There is a lack of common
diagnosis of the availability of the information required knowledge and communication about projects
to measure progress in SDG implementation. Work involving statistical activities, a lack of effective
sessions were held and data collection tools were applied communication between the information systems
to the 107 bodies involved in statistical operations to within bodies producing statistics, and a lack of co-
identify the strengths and weaknesses in the produc- ordination between national bodies concerning the
tion and dissemination of statistics, in preparation for information requirements of local bodies.
the drafting of the 2017–2022 National Statistics Plan. • Legal barriers and lack of knowledge about
Quality assessments of the statistical process, conduct- how to overcome them: Some bodies, invok-
ed by assessment committees made up of independent ing the principle of discretion and confidentiality,
experts, were also used, as well as information from refuse to provide the information required or limit
research, public policy documents and sectoral and the flow of information and microdata. In addition,
territorial thematic reviews. interoperability constitutes a major challenge, given
the extensive lack of knowledge about anonymisa-
It was found that SEN had access to information for tion techniques within some data-producing bodies,
54% of the global SDG indicators; for 30% the infor- impeding the flow of information within govern-
mation required improvement, and for the remaining ment bodies.
16%, no data was available. DANE produces around 50% • Limited understanding of statistics: According
of the information required for measuring the progress to DANE’s quality assessments, some bodies com-
towards the SDGs and the remaining 50% corresponds prising SEN do not acknowledge the public nature
to the bodies comprising SEN. of the statistical information they produce and, as a
result, not all the members of SEN understand that
The existing statistics gaps include the territorial sta- one of the aims behind producing and disseminating
tistics, the lack of georeferencing and the low level of quality information is to enable the users to use it,
disaggregation. These gaps deprive society of the ability be it for research, public policy decisions or to assess
to assess the scope of the economic, sociodemographic political leaders’ management performance based on
or environmental phenomena that has the greatest im- the widest possible source of objective data.
pact on their well-being. It also limits the government’s
ability to understand the vulnerability of people and the The adoption of the National Statistics Plan for
inequalities suffered by population groups affected by 2017–2022 was a very important step in meeting these
exclusion, mistreatment or discrimination. challenges, as it provides Colombia, for the first time,
with a roadmap defining the supply and demand that
In the process of developing the National Statistics Plan, the country has and needs to have in terms of statistical
the following challenges and reasons for statistics gaps information. The plan outlines the efforts needed to fill
were identified: each information gap identified in relation to the SDGs
• Lack of focus on users’ needs: The bodies and Colombia’s accession to the OECD, through nine
producing the statistical information are not always strategies, accompanied by each of the action plans:
aware of the users’ needs. According to DANE’s 1. Define the supply of statistical information that
assessment of statistical operations between 2010 should be produced continuously.
and 2015, 47% demonstrated difficulty identifying 2. Promote the dissemination of and access to statisti-
the users’ needs, either because they do not consult cal information.
the users—because the consultation mechanisms 3. Foster improvements in the quality of official statis-
and procedures are flawed—or because they are not tics.
interested in meeting these needs. 4. Identify and promote the need to take advantage of
• Limited use of administrative records and administrative records as a statistical source.
alternative data sources: There is a long history 5. Promote the inclusion of a differentiated and inter-
in the country of impeding access to the administra- sectional approach to the production and dissemina-
tive records of public bodies, as well as to the micro- tion of the statistics within SEN.
data and metadata comprising the databases. Of the 6. Promote innovation, learning and knowledge man-
statistical operations assessed by DANE, 20% either agement processes for statistical production.
do not disseminate historical data or only partially 7. Implement agreements on the production of the
publish it; and only 13% of the statistical operations statistics that the country requires.
in the inventory include metadata in DANE’s

6 development dialogue paper no. 25 | december 2018

8. Ensure integration between statistical information Backed by the Swedish Embassy in Colombia, and in
and geospatial information. collaboration with Data Act Lab, DNP and DANE
9. Strengthen regional statistical capacity. have set up an online platform for the dissemination of
SDG-related data, www.ods.gov.co. Initiated in 2016, the
For general targets, the plan establishes that at least 50% platform was developed with the intention to give all
of the statistical operations it covers should secure a stakeholders access to information about the implemen-
favourable appraisal in the quality assessments made of tation of the 2030 Agenda in Colombia. This was also in
their production process, and that at least 30% of the an effort to ensure alignment with the national govern-
bodies within SEN should develop their statistical ment’s open data strategy aimed at facilitating the sharing,
capacity. Emphasis is placed on internal knowledge de- use and reuse of data. The platform displays Colombia’s
velopment, through the implementation and application 2030 Agenda process and tracks progress for each indica-
of dissemination and access standards by members of tor, including baselines and national targets for 2018 and
SEN, using a common language. 2030. It also shows data gaps and data disaggregated for
gender, age and geographic location when available. The
Rejoining statistics production online platform is user-friendly, providing easy access to
To address the disconnect and overlapping efforts in the data and the option to share and download. In addition,
production of statistics, the plan recommends the use of the technology used is open source.
information and communications technology as a key
tool in ensuring more efficient management of national Launched in March 2018, the platform is being used by
and local information and optimising information a variety of stakeholders, ranging from experienced data
access and exchange processes. DNP, as part of its role to users that run additional analysis with the data, to basic
coordinate with the telecommunications sector, pressed users who like to go through the more general contents
ahead with developing a national policy on Big Data such as the timeline, Colombia’s SDG process and infor-
and the SDG implementation. The Ministry of Informa- mation from different departments.
tion and Communication Technology (MinTIC –
Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Colombia’s online SDG platform represents a step
Comunicaciones), for its part, developed guidelines for forward in terms of communicating the 2030 Agenda
providing citizens with digital services and laid the and progress towards reaching the targets. Nevertheless,
foundations for public administrations to move towards tools and strategies still need to be developed to facilitate
data interoperability.10 citizens’ understanding and use of the data. The hope and
aim is to strengthen a culture of information that enables
Coordinating with the Latin American region citizens to actively participate and gives them a possibility
Colombia is also fully aware of the importance of con- to hold the government accountable. As additional steps,
necting its local drive to strengthen its statistical system a multi-stakeholder platform has been created, which in-
with regional and international processes. DANE’s cludes capacity-building components, and tools for visual-
participation in the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on ising stakeholders’ contributions have also been initiated.
SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs), together with regional
platforms in Latin America and the Andean region, has Lessons learned related to the SDG data platform:
been pivotal in strengthening and harmonising SDG • A digital, online platform is the output of a long
monitoring and reporting. In addition, DANE takes process. First it is essential to prepare the data and
part in platforms contributing to alliance building with meta-data in a structured way and allow time for
international organisations such as the Global Partner- an inclusive process to set the national targets.
ship for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD). This • It is beneficial for users if the platform displays
has helped the bodies operating within SEN to develop the national targets set for 2030 alongside the data
collaboration mechanisms and learning platforms for that tracks progress to date. This helps to visualise
capacity building. For example, it has partnered with the the full process of where the country is coming
United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Admini- from and the vision and projection of where it is
stration (NASA) and the Group on Earth Observations heading.
on the incorporation of geospatial information. • A digital online tool has the potential to reach
various stakeholders, from researchers to the
general citizen. It is important to design the
Communicating data and progress contents and data visualisations with different user
Despite the Colombian government’s early commitment profiles in mind, allowing it to be a foundation for
to the 2030 Agenda, a survey conducted in 2016 showed stakeholder engagement.
that only 11% of the Colombian people knew about the • With an emphasis on user-friendliness, and the
Agenda. Since then several efforts have been made to technology being open source, Colombia’s SDG
improve communication on policies and progress related platform is an important tool for other countries to
to the SDGs. learn from Colombia’s accomplishments and to get
inspiration for developing their own platforms.

development dialogue paper no. 25 | december 2018 7

Final remarks
Colombia’s progress in the implementation of the SDGs
provides room for optimism. As this paper displays, Co-
lombia was a champion in the negotiations leading up
to the 2030 Agenda and was early to embark on an am-
bitious process of setting up national and local structures
for the implementation of the SDGs. The country has
also continued to be active on the international scene,
being one of the first countries to present its Voluntary
National Review to the High-level Political Forum on
Sustainable Development in 2016. It was also one of
Goal Tracker
The experiences and technology gained from the
the few countries that have reported on its progress a process of developing Colombia’s online SDG
second time (in 2018).11 At the same time, the findings platform have formed the starting point of the
and lessons learned during this period represent oppor- Goal Tracker initiative, with the aim to let other
tunities for improvement for the government elected in countries benefit from Colombia’s pioneering
work. Goal Tracker is a digital platform that
2018. There are still many challenges ahead as Colombia enables countries and their citizens to
continues on the road to achieving the goals it has set visually track implementation of the SDGs and
itself for 2030. related national policies. The platform can be tai-
lored to any specific country, translating complex
‘It was very important for us to have a tool so that any data on development priorities into innovative
and accessible information. It is being developed
interested party could consult the information about what we’ve
by Data Act Lab, with the support from the
done and what national targets are set for 2030.This is the
Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation.
best way to do it. Now everybody within Colombia and
internationally can review all the data and what the process www.goaltracker.org
has been.’ Adriana Castro González

Endnotes
1
The paper describes Colombia’s SDG processes from the perspective 5
Departementos are subregional entities in Colombia.
of government officials and does not cover possible diverting views of 6
SIEE – Sistema de Información para la Evaluación de la Eficacia
other stakeholders. Furthermore, since it is based on a report produced 7
Terridata was developed with support from United States Agency
in May 2018, it does not cover any steps taken by the government for International Development (USAID), the World Bank and the
elected in the subsequent elections. Embassy of Sweden.
2
United Nations General Assembly, ‘Resolution adopted by the 8
Conpes 3934, Política de Crecimiento Verde, Bogotá D.D. 10 de julio
General Assembly on 25 September 2015, Transforming Our World: de 2018.
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, 9
‘Final Agreement to End the Armed Conflict and Build a Stable and
(General Assembly Resolution, A/RES/70/1, 21 October 2015). Lasting Peace’, (agreement, Office of the High Commissioner for
https://undocs.org/A/RES/70/1 Peace, 24 November 2016). http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.
3
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (known gov.co/Prensa/Documentos%20compartidos/Colombian-Peace-
as Rio+20) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20–22 June 2012. Agreement-English-Translation.pdf
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/rio20 Decree 1413 of 2017, which defines general guidelines for the use and
10

4
United Nations General Assembly, ‘Resolution adopted by the operation of digital citizen services.
General Assembly on 27 July 2012, The future we want’, 11
Both Voluntary National Reviews are available at the UN website
(General Assembly Resolution, A/RES/66/288, 11 September 2012). https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs/
http://www.undocs.org/A/RES/66/288

This paper is based on a report produced in May 2018, at the request of the Dag Hammarskjöld
Print: XO Graf. Photo and illustration: Adobe Stock Images.

Foundation, by independent consultant Ludwig Iván Numpake Puerto with input and clarifications from
Adriana Castro González, Technical Secretariat of the SDG Commission in Colombia.

The report was translated from Spanish to English by Louise Durkin and has thereafter been shortened and
edited by Matilda Hald and Anna Crumley-Effinger of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation.

The Development Dialogue paper series

is published by the Dag Hammarskjöld
Foundation and aims to provide analysis
and practical recommendations on
important development issues. www.daghammarskjold.se
[email protected]