This session will explore the link between PFM reforms and Sustainable Development at national and sub national levels, and determine how PFM reform and budgets can accelerate the SDGs, and how SDGs can contribute to PFM reform agenda.

Session panelists (government officials and development partners) will share their experiences related to: ​

• Different entry points, PFM processes and tools used, and the relevance of information systems for budgeting to the SDGs.
• Budgeting for SDGs as a framework to make budget decisions and allocate public resources.
• Need to go beyond the Central Government and involve regional and local levels in aligning their development plans and budgets to the SDGs.
• Cost of advancing towards the SDGs and need to add and coordinate the financial efforts of the private sector and international institutions. 

Related Materials

Guidebook on budgeting for the Sustainable Development Goals - Aligning domestic budgets with the SDGs - UNDP (2020)  

Budgeting for SDGs and Other High-Level Priorities - IMF Blog (2021)

How to Maintain Progress on Implementing the SDGs - IMF Blog (2022)

Budgeting for the SDGs - a modular handbook UNDP (2022)

Country Materials

Spain, Informe de Alineacion del Presupuesto a los ODS

Malaysia, SDG Sukuk Framework

Presentations

Presentation - Session 1

In this session, discussion will centre around the lessons can we draw across different approaches to SDG budgeting, including those related to climate, gender and social spending? How do these approaches support budget allocation decisions? And how can these multiple budget reforms be mutually interoperable?

Session panelists (government officials and development partners) will share their experiences related to:

• Different types of public financial management and budgeting for the SDGs reforms being put in place by countries and the lessons on the outcome of those reforms.  
• How can issues such as interoperability can be advanced so that similar systems serve the purpose of integrating different aspects of SDGs?
• How can these reforms impact budget allocation decision making to accelerate the process towards the Agenda-2030? 

In this session, three presentations will be made on; 1) IMF’s analysis on raising additional revenues for the SDGs and other development needs – including Tax capacity—the policy, institutional, and technical capabilities to collect tax revenue, 2) the role of Tax Inspectors Without Borders in raising additional revenues, and 3) how to align tax policies with the SDGs.

The IMF presentation will be made by Fiscal Affairs Department, while presentations on Tax Inspectors Without Borders, and Tax for the SDGs will be made by UNDP.

Session panelists (government officials and development partners) will share their experiences related to:

• Tax policy and administration reforms – raising taxes without having negative impacts on economic, social and environmental aspects of development.
• How alignment of taxes with the SDGs can be made?  

In this session, discussions will be made on protecting and expanding fiscal space for social spending, including the key strategies for success at consensus building across international partners on public finance reforms, and what are the key lessons to apply both to social spending and priority-based expenditure, more generally.

Session panelists (government officials and development partners) will share their experiences related to:

• Budget systems and process reforms focusing on improving lives of children, women, and vulnerable population.
• How improving outcomes related to social sector can impact other SDGs.
• Equitably allocation of budgets to reduce income, gender and territorial inequalities. 

This session will discuss how are different approaches to integrating climate change, biodiversity and environment policy supporting PFM reforms and accelerating progress towards the SDGs?

Session panelists (government officials and development partners) will share their experiences related to:

• Green PFM principles and entry points.
• Green budgeting tools and relevant changes in the budget cycle.
• Climate-related public investments management.
• Climate-related fiscal risks.

This session will discuss to what extent is gender budgeting playing a breakthrough role, paving the way for consideration of other strategic goals related to the SDGs as part of the budget process?

Session panelists (government officials and development partners) will share their experiences related to:

• The extent to which gender budgeting represents a new approach to evidence-based budgeting, facilitating better-informed and more-targeted budget decisions.
• The lessons that can be drawn from gender budgeting in relation to how strategic budget initiatives can help improve the effectiveness of the government’s budget in progressing other high-level and cross-cutting priorities.
• The challenges associated with implementing gender budgeting and what needs to be done so that government budgets can more effectively progress high-level and cross-cutting government objectives.
• Experiences with implementing multiple strategic budget initiatives and steps that can be taken to help build a cohesive overall approach. 

This session will discuss how governments are using SDG financing strategies to strengthen linkages between different approaches to SDG budgeting, medium terms revenues strategies and private investment for sustainable development.

Session panelists will share their experiences related to:

• Understanding of the need to finance the SDGs.
• Building consensus on the value-added of integrated approaches for financing the SDGs and illustrate key innovations/ policy solutions being pursued by countries at different stages of development.
• Highlighting lessons learned and good practices in implementing INFFs to date. 

This session will discuss how transparency and accountability can strengthen budget credibility and build trust though parliamentary oversight, citizen budgets and other mechanisms enabling scrutiny of SDG financing.

Session panelists (government officials and development partners) will share their experiences related to:

• The importance of and key trends associated with budget transparency, participation and accountability.
• Key experiences in transparency, including their objectives, methods, results and next steps.
• The bedrock role of transparency and accountability to parliamentary oversight of the budget, as well as presenting options for strengthening oversight of the SDGs throughout the budget cycle. 

This session will discuss how to take more collaborated approaches on technical assistance and capacity building on budgeting and fiscal policy for SDGs.

Session panelists (government officials and development partners) will share their experiences related to:

• How public financial management technical assistance and capacity building reforms can be reoriented towards improving development outcomes?
• The need of countries in different types of budgeting reforms for improving alignment with the SDGs.  
• The role of capacity centres in building capacities of country offices.  
• UNDP-UNICEF flagship initiative on public expenditure management reforms for improving environmental and social sector SDGs.