The multidimensional and intergenerational nature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for integrated policies. Progress made in a particular social, economic or environmental area or individual goal may generate synergies and trade-offs across dimensions (spillover effects), and steps taken in one country could have positive or negative impacts beyond national borders (transboundary effects).

This report highlights countries’ practices in implementing the OECD Council Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD). It illustrates how governments can use institutional mechanisms for PCSD to address complex international problems together – including implementing the 2030 Agenda – and explores how policy coherence principles can be applied to promote whole-of-government approaches to policymaking.

This report examines the role that national institutional and governance innovations and changes that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic can play in advancing progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The consequences of the pandemic threaten to derail progress and make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) more difficult to achieve. Yet the pandemic also sparked rapid innovation in government institutions and public administration that could be capitalized on. Against this backdrop, the report focuses on how governments can reshape their relationship with people and other actors to enhance trust and promote the changes required for more sustainable and peaceful societies. How they can assess competing priorities and address difficult policy trade-offs that have emerged since 2020. And what assets and innovations they can mobilize to transform the public sector and achieve the SDGs. The e-book for this publication has been converted into an accessible format for the visually impaired and people with print reading disabilities. It is fully compatible with leading screen-reader technologies such as JAWS and NVDA.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has an unprecedented ambition, but also confronts countries with an enormous challenge given the complex and integrated nature of the Agenda with its 17 Goals, underpinned by 169 Targets. To assist national governments with their implementation, the OECD has developed a unique methodology allowing comparison of progress across SDG goals and targets, and also over time.

The 2023 edition of Government at a Glance provides a comprehensive overview of public governance and public administration practices in OECD Member and partner countries. It includes indicators on trust in public institutions and satisfaction with public services, as well as evidence on good governance practices in areas such as the policy cycle, budgeting, public procurement, infrastructure planning and delivery, regulatory governance, digital government and open government data.