Four years into the 2030 Agenda, there is still a large gap in data to understand where the world stands in achieving its shared goals, the SDGs. To support countries in producing better data for monitoring progress, FAO held a very well attended resource partners roundtable, entitled “Data for the SDGs”. This event, which took place on 19 June 2019 at FAO headquarters, was co-organized by FAO’s Business Development and Resource Mobilization Division and the Office of the Chief Statistician.

A key objective of the meeting was to gather all current and potential resource partners interested in finding out more about FAO’s work in this area and funding SDG data-related initiatives. Specifically, FAO and partners advocated for further support to the USD 21 million “Measuring the SDGs” Programme, which aims at increasing the availability and quality of statistics to inform decision-making on the SDGs, a key ingredient to putting the 2030 Agenda back on track.

The success of the 2030 Agenda  depends on expertise, vision and political will, but also on the availability of higher-quality data to help design, finance, implement, monitor and evaluate development interventions. Investing in better data is a critical complementary investment that ensures that scarce resources are put to good use. As custodian for 21 SDGs indicators, FAO is grateful to those resource partners who are supporting its work and calls for new and renewed resource partnerships.

The roundtable provided valuable insights into the centrality of data for FAO’s mandate and the production of public goods like the flagship SOFI publication. The event also forged understanding and strong agreement on the importance of increased national capacity for producing and using better SDG data and the need for targeted and sustainable capacity building support, underpinned by effective partnerships and coordination.

Among the participants were numerous delegates from FAO member states, as well as representatives from private sector firms and foundations.

This July, FAO will release the first digital SDG progress report of its kind. It will present key data and trends for 16 of the indicators under FAO custodianship.

Find out more:

SDG indicators under FAO custodianship

FAO Resource Partners website

Video | Investing in measuring progress towards the SDGs

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Presentations | PSR/OCS presentation | The experience of Armenia

Publication | Measuring the SDGs: Improving country data for monitoring SDG achievements and informing policy decisions