Regional: Advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - Subproject 2

Multisector / ADB's corporate management, policy and strategy development

The TA will support the following outcome: Higher-quality programs and projects that advance the SDGs developed and delivered by ADB DMCs. Subproject 1 has supported efforts to build knowledge in DMCs to enable policies, plans, strategies, and programs that advance SDG attainment in Mongolia, the Laos PDR, and Sri Lanka, as well as regional knowledge generation on prospects for SDG attainment and financing. Subproject 2 will build on these efforts through cross cutting SDG knowledge support to increase DMC capacity and country level knowledge on SDG financing and implementation.

The TA will emphasize the cross-cutting and interlinked challenges of poverty and inclusion (SDGs 1 and 10), gender equality (SDG 5), and climate change and environmental sustainability (SDGs 12 and 13). It supports implementation of ADB Management's response to the 2021 Annual Evaluation Review (AER) from ADB's Independent Evaluation Department (IED), which recommended that ADB sustain and deepen its support for country level action to implement the SDGs in the context of COVID-19 recovery, and to assess SDG financing needs and opportunities in a context of fiscal stress, and compounding crises.

In developing the precursor sub-projects of this cluster TA, SPRA has consulted actively with regional departments to identify opportunities for knowledge work to complement country programming and knowledge. It has established processes through which operational department leads, particularly those based in resident missions, can express interest in using the TA resources for knowledge and capacity building work including (i) enabling country level SDG outreach and convening, (ii) supporting governments to integrate SDGs in national policy efforts/by (a) linking SDGs to integrated national policy efforts, (b) providing SDG financing and costing analysis or (c) data for the SDGs and (iii) laying the groundwork for SDG financing/operations.

The Asia and the Pacific region is off-track in achieving every one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has set the region back even further, especially for women, exacerbating vulnerabilities related to socially focused SDGs particularly poverty and inequality, health, education. Progress against environmental SDGs (e.g., taking action on climate change, promoting responsible consumption and production, and protecting life on land and below water) has been particularly slow. Fiscal constraints compounded by COVID-19 further impede the ability of developing member countries (DMCs) to address the SDGs in a holistic manner alongside short-term crisis-response measures.

Achieving the 17 SDGs is a focus of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Strategy 2030. The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) cluster will--through practical research and analysis, policy advice, and capacity building--support DMCs to advance SDG implementation by enabling them to develop and deliver more effective results-based programming.

The TA cluster will address the following issues: (i) emphasis on the SDGs in DMC national development planning and financing processes is uneven, (ii) good practices and lessons for ensuring that development partner and national government operations are effective in achieving the SDGs are not collected, disseminated, or applied regularly, (iii) DMCs' capacity to better manage results by designing and monitoring programs that will support progress in achieving the SDGs also remains limited.

DMCs effective achievement of the SDGs increased

Higher quality programs and projects that advance the SDGs developed and delivered by ADB DMCs

DMC capacity to align programs and financing with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development enhanced

DMC knowledge of good practices and lessons from operations increased

DMC capacity for result-based project design and management strengthened