In the post-2015 development era with 17 inter-linked and universal Sustainable Development Goals at its core, multi-stakeholder partnerships are expected to play an increasingly important role in its implementation. Sustainable Development Goal 17 - “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development” - recognizes multi-stakeholder partnerships as important vehicles for mobilizing and sharing knowledge, expertise, technologies and financial resources to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, particularly developing countries.

The effectiveness of multi-stakeholder partnerships, while dependent on many factors, will increasingly be tied to their ability to manage and share knowledge and expertise about the issues, processes, and solutions that they are promoting. The Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are truly universal in nature – they apply to all countries, and all sectors. This universality will require, inter alia, that the knowledge and expertise managed and possessed by multi-stakeholder partnerships need to be shared as widely as possible in order for it to reach beyond immediate constituencies and communities and to have an impact on a global scale.

The Sustainable Development Goals and targets will come into effect on 1 January 2016 and will guide decisions member States take over the next fifteen years. Reviewing its progress is crucial as it will ensure it remains relevant and ambitious. The review will be centralized through the High-level Political Forum, which will hold its first session since adoption of the 2030 Agenda in July 2016.

The present report reviews mandates given to United Nations in the context of partnerships, with the objective to inform member States as they prepare for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and deliberate the modalities for its review.

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