In adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, all UN Member States committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a spirit of global solidarity, within their own countries and at regional and global levels. This commitment respects national policies and priorities, and acknowledges differences in realities, capacities, and levels of development. As they embarked on this collective journey in 2015, they pledged that no one will be left behind. However, a decade later, progress is alarmingly off track.
Achieving just and sustainable development within planetary boundaries requires concrete actions to remove barriers and accelerate progress. One critical, yet often overlooked, dimension is the cross-border impact (positive and negative) of national policies—known as spillover effects.
Spillover effects encompass the positive and negative unintended global consequences of a country’s consumption, production, trade, and financial patterns on other countries. They are not merely an externality of national policies; but an intrinsic challenge and opportunity: in an interconnected world, spillover effects create both risks and advantages that extend well beyond the national context.
Therefore, spillover effects of internal policies must be recognized, and policymaking processes must be designed in such a way that these consequences are considered and acted upon not only at national level, but also across borders.
The “Spillover-Innovation Learning Journey” is a knowledge exchange and capacity-building initiative designed to address both the positive and negative spillover effects of national trade, consumption, production, and financial patterns on other countries. Operating at national, regional, and international levels, the initiative aims to strengthen the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and accelerate progress toward the SDGs. The objective is to operationalize global solidarity and a whole-of-society approach.
At the heart of the Learning Journey is the creation of communities of practice that unite policymakers with the expertise of diverse stakeholders from academia, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations. These communities will focus on understanding and managing spillover effects through peer-to-peer learning to share best practices, lessons learned, and insights and to draw actionable insights.
Through multi-stakeholder engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration, the initiative will develop an innovative peer-to-peer learning model to integrate spillover effects into sustainable development policymaking. It emphasizes innovative and systemic approaches that embed spillover-conscious thinking into national, regional, and multilateral policy processes. Thereby, the Learning Journey aims to establish foundations for the integration of spillover effects into evolving sustainability agendas.
Creation of an inclusive learning and experimentation space: Establishment of a dedicated innovative environment to explore spillover-related strategies, providing a structured platform for innovation, experimentation, and knowledge exchange.
Facilitated exchange across national, regional, and global levels: Opportunities for policymakers to connect with expertise from diverse stakeholders and to engage in peer-to-peer learning, share innovative approaches, and foster cross-level collaboration.
Support for scaling innovative learning models: Provision of an innovative learning model and capacity-building to expand and adapt effective spillover-conscious practices for integration into sustainability agendas.
Enhanced awareness and integration of spillover considerations: Development of peer-to-peer learning modules to help embed spillover insights into sustainable development frameworks at all levels.
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