Evolving development goals in an evolving world: Economic opportunity and innovation top priorities for policymakers

Sponsored by:
Evolving
development
goals in an
evolving world
An Economist Intelligence Unit
programme sponsored by Microsoft

Preface
Preface & about this report Section 1: The Goals Section 2: The Strategies
2Evolving development goals in an evolving world
Evolving development goals in an
evolving world is a report that
explores how policymakers around
the world—from civil servants to
elected officials—rank their economic,
social and environmental priorities’
alignment with the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). The report also reviews the
strategies and investments these
policymakers are prioritising to meet
these goals in the future.
This survey-based paper seeks to
understand the balance policymakers
must strike between a global and
local focus and to point to areas of
opportunity amid uncertainty and
upheaval. It provides a window
into some of these challenges and
reflects policymakers’ thinking as they
contemplate strategies to meet their
broader development goals in isolation
or in partnership with other agencies,
industry or organisations. As the survey
results indicate, tough trade-offs lie
ahead, with respondents prioritising
economic prosperity over other goals
such as environmental protection.
Against this backdrop, pioneering
examples of public sector innovation
and collaborative policymaking with
other groups are emerging—examples
that will be explored later in this report.
Some notable findings include:
All countries save India rank
improving economic opportunity
as a top-three goal
In only three countries surveyed
did the environment rank as one
of the three top priorities
Innovation ranks first, second or
third in all countries but Canada,
India and Kenya as a social or
economic objective
Education is a top-three priority
in only developing countries
Collaboration between
government and other groups
is almost universally chosen as
a top-three lever to better meet
social or economic goals.
Creating economic opportunity
Increasing innovation
Improving infrastructure
Improving the quality of and access to healthcare
Protecting the environment and natural resources
Improving the quality of and access to education
Reducing inequalities
Fostering justice and stability
Top 3 goals by country
Canada Denmark India Kenya Poland Singapore UK US
1
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2 2 2
22
2
2
1
1 1 1
1 1 1
21 3
=1
An equal sign denotes
a tie among responses
=3
=2
=2 =3

In February of 2016, the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU), on behalf of
Microsoft, polled 360 policymakers in
eight countries—Canada, Denmark,
India, Kenya, Poland, Singapore,
the UK and the US—on eight social
and economic priorities. These eight
goals loosely align with the United
Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development
Goals and range from better access
to education and healthcare
to improving infrastructure and
innovation to expanding economic
opportunity. The survey also queried
them on the levers, from partnerships
to technology to entrepreneurship,
they believe will best help meet these
goals.
About this report
Section 1: The Goals Section 2: The Strategies
3
UN Sustainable
Development Goals
Economic and social goals
explored within this survey
Preface & about this report
Evolving development goals in an evolving world

Participating countries
Position of participants
% respondents
4
As for the sample, the vast majority of
respondents (73%) are civil servants;
nearly 17% are appointed officials and
roughly 10% are elected officials. The
largest group (42%) works for federal or
national organisations, with 33% with
local (including county and municipal)
authorities and 24% with state or
provincial bodies.
The sample draws from 45 respondents
who work in a variety of functions in
each country. They are employed in
government agencies or organisations
that focus on areas ranging from trade
and transportation to agriculture
and education. Results were tested
for statistical significance at a 95%
confidence level.
Views from those in both low- and
high-income countries provide new
insights into how policymakers’ thinking
is evolving in various regions to meet
current and future global challenges.
United States
Kenya
India
Singapore
Canada United Kingdom
Denmark
Poland
73.1%
360participants
8countries
6:2developed : developing countries
16.7%
10.3%
Civil Servant Appointed
Official
Elected
Official
Geographic coverage of
participating organisations
% respondents
Section 1: The Goals Section 2: The StrategiesPreface & about this report
33.3%42.2%
Federal/national Local including
county or
municipal
24.4%
State/
provincial

As global challenges grow in scope
and scale, policymakers are under
pressure to meet their development
goals. The context in which they
must work is far from easy. Slowing
growth, stagnant wages, increased
political instability and Europe’s
refugee crisis require decisive action
to stay the course. Throw in global
concerns such as climate change
and rising inequality, and it is clear
that the intertwined nature of today’s
challenges will demand cross-agency
and -sector collaboration.
While some evidence exists of efforts
to tackle complex, cross-border
challenges, responses to this survey
of 360 global policymakers reveal a
focus on local issues such as health
and education, rather than on global
goals such as resource conservation
and the move to a low-carbon
economy. For example, while all
countries rank improving economic
opportunity as a top-three priority,
and many highlight the need to
increase innovation, protecting the
environment is a top-three priority only
in wealthy countries. One framework
that could help governments shape
their development strategies emerged
last year with the adoption of the
UN Sustainable Development Goals.
These grew out of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), a set of
targets that were designed to reduce
poverty, hunger and disease by 2015.
While the SDGs have global
ambitions, including protecting
the planet and ensuring prosperity
for all, policymakers face many
challenges at home. Today in the UK,
for example, 16-25-year-olds account
for 40% of all those out of work, thus
reducing their revenue contribution
to the economy. Meanwhile, globally,
more people are living longer with
multiple medical conditions that
require costly treatments, placing
an increased burden on national
healthcare systems.
The good news is that respondents
seek more collaboration between
government and other groups, as well
as increased government spending
and greater use of technology to
meet these goals. But the siloed
nature of public sector departments
and public funding allocations means
governments still struggle to connect
one problem with another.
This needs to change as the world’s
problems become increasingly
complex and interconnected.
“Eliminating poverty … will require
action on inequality, as inequality
is a driving force behind it,” says
Erinch Sahan, global adviser on
business and markets at Oxfam
GB. To be successful, co-ordinating
efforts across agencies, sectors and
countries will be critical.
Setting the scene
5
“Eliminating poverty…
will require action on
inequality, as inequality is
a driving force behind it.”
business and markets at Oxfam GB.
Interviewees
The findings and views in this report do not necessarily represent
the views of the sponsor. The author was Sarah Murray; Carolyn
Whelan was the editor; Ana Berenguer was the analyst.
The report includes insights from the
following development experts who
were asked to comment on the report’s
findings and add perspectives from their
areas of expertise and experience.
We thank all the individuals who
participated:
Jake Anders, senior research
associate in the Department of
Learning and Leadership, UCL
Institute of Education
Ana Marie Argilagos, senior advisor,
Equitable Development, Ford
Foundation
Casey Dunning, senior policy analyst,
Center for Global Development
Andrew Norton, director,
International Institute for
Environment and Development
business and markets, Oxfam GB

6
Section 1
The Goals

Given the current economic climate,
it is not surprising that policymakers
polled are keenly focused on boosting
economic opportunity, reinforcing
the idea that GDP growth tends to
precede social development. In fact,
policymakers in all countries rank
expanding economic opportunity,
improving infrastructure or increasing
industrial innovation—all of which
underpin economic growth—as
one of their top three development
goals. Improving healthcare is ranked
fourth globally.
For the world’s wealthier countries,
the path to prosperity often begins
with innovation. Survey respondents in
Poland, Singapore and Denmark are
among those prioritising innovation—
all three countries have developed
strong mechanisms that support
innovation. Denmark (not surprising,
given its Lego legacy) recently
established an innovation foundation
with an annual budget of Dkr1.5bn.
Similarly, Poland is using €10bn in
structural funds from the European
Union to stimulate commercially
oriented research. Finally, Singapore’s
2016 budget includes provision for an
Industry Transformation Programme
to drive growth through innovation
and to help Singaporean companies
compete globally.
For other high-income countries,
investments in infrastructure anchor
social and economic progress.
Canada (where respondents attach
the highest importance to improving
infrastructure) in its 2016 budget
committed nearly C$60bn for new
infrastructure funding. The UK—where
infrastructure improvement is a top-
three goal—last year created a
National Infrastructure Commission
to increase investment in critical
infrastructure such as energy and
transport networks.
Prosperity first – equality later
7
Other
Developed versus developing country goals
% respondents
Developed countries
10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Developing countries
31.5%
17.8%
30.0%
58.9%
17.8%
50.0%
50.4%
46.7%
44.1%
24.4%
19.6%
28.9%
38.1%
42.2%
24.8%
13.3%
0.7%
1.1%

Just as Maslow’s hierarchy requires food
and shelter before more advanced
human progress, respondents in the
lower-income countries of Kenya and
India place their highest priorities on
improving healthcare and education,
reflecting a divergent path to social
and economic progress than that of
their higher-income peers. Indeed,
respondents in India stand alone in
not prioritising improving economic
opportunity as a top national priority.
This is understandable. In India—whose
policymakers make up one of the
biggest survey groups to highlight
improved access to healthcare as a top
goal—just 16% households have access
to free or partially free public healthcare,
according to the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD).
“The closer you get to the ground,
the more there’s an emphasis on
unemployment and healthcare
because that’s what people see,”
observes Ana Marie Argilagos, senior
advisor, Equitable Development, at the
Ford Foundation.
For some, the focus on education is
paying off. According to the World Bank,
Kenya has already met a few of the
original MDG targets, including almost
universal primary school enrolment and
narrower gender gaps in education.
Meeting basic needs – a top priority in emerging markets
8
“The closer you get to
the ground, the more
there’s an emphasis on
unemployment and
healthcare because
that’s what people see.”
Equitable Development at the Ford Foundation

Growth wins out over environmental goals
9
Environmental rank by country
% respondents who believe Protecting the Environment and Natural Resources is a top social or environmental goal in their country
Canada Denmark US Poland India Singapore UK Kenya
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
51.5% 42.2% 33.3% 26.7% 22.2% 17.8% 17.8% 13.3%
While 8 of the 17 SDGs are focused
on environmental issues—including
climate action, ocean conservation
and responsible consumption—survey
responses reveal a lack of political
will among policymakers to consider
this as a top priority. Protecting the
environment and natural resources
ranks only fifth, lagging behind creating
economic opportunity, increasing
innovation in industry, improving
infrastructure and improving the quality
of and access to healthcare.
Protecting the environment as a top
priority is more prevalent among
high-income economies, with this a
top-three priority only for respondents
in Canada, Denmark and, to a
lesser degree, the US. For countries
still developing their economies,
environmental spending falls down
the agenda. Indeed, the Paris Climate
Change Conference in 2015 exposed
how low- and high-income countries
are divided on the question of
promoting carbon reduction.
Protecting ecosystems or combating
climate change often loses out to
immediate domestic concerns,
notes Mr Sahan of Oxfam. “Youth
unemployment, which puts more
heat and pressure on local players
to act, is more likely to get their
attention,” he says.
However, some recognise that
environmental protection and
economic growth are intertwined.
In Canada, whose policymakers
form the largest group prioritising
environmental protection, Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau has said that
Canada will allocate some of its
pledged infrastructure spending to
green technologies.

Notably, Indian policymakers did not
rank protecting the environment as
a top-three goal (prioritising instead
increased access to healthcare and
education). But, at the national level,
reducing carbon emissions is seen as
compatible with efforts to raise living
standards by increasing energy access:
India has ambitious plans to grow the
portion of renewable energy in its
national power supply. “The big shift
is in seeing the low-carbon transition
as an economic opportunity rather
than as a drag,” notes Andrew Norton,
director, International Institute for
Environment and Development. “There
is evidence that India wants to move in
that direction.”
But environmental investments can pay
off. In Kenya, for example, improved
farming techniques (such as promoting
biodiversity and increasing the organic
matter in soils) have helped smallholder
farmers in the western part of the
country receive carbon credits issued
under the Sustainable Agricultural
Land Management (SALM) carbon
accounting methodology.
Mr Norton argues that for the world to
realise environmental ambitions set out
both in the SDGs and in Paris, linking
environmental and economic issues
is essential. “Governments that don’t
prioritise growth and employment
are rare, so, in general, environmental
goals need to merge with the notion
that the green transition is good for
growth to get political buy-in,” he says.
10
“Governments that don’t prioritise growth and
employment are rare, so in general [environmental
goals] need to merge with the notion that the green
transition is good for growth to get political buy-in.”
Mr Norton of IIED

If the lure of prosperity is a strong
theme in the survey, policymakers
do not appear to be connecting
economic growth goals with efforts
to reduce inequality. This latter goal
ranked eighth (last) globally and
below fourth place in every country.
The relatively low emphasis on
tackling inequality is surprising,
given talk in Europe of inequality
as a trigger of unrest and rising cries
of inequality stoking an overheated
US presidential campaign. It is also
worrying, as inequality of all sorts—
income, gender and ethnicity—
works against progress and can
limit gains from diversity in innovation,
healthcare, education, innovation
and, by extension, economic growth.
Failing to address inequality hurts
communities and hampers economic
growth, according to the OECD.
In fact, OECD research has found
that the cumulative UK and US
growth rates would have been
between 6 and 9 percentage points
higher in the past two decades had
income disparities not widened.
Evidence of the growing rich-poor
divide recently emerged from
leakage of the so-called Panama
Papers, which revealed the loss
of corporate tax revenue that
might otherwise have funded
social or economic development
programmes to offshore havens.
Oxfam’s Mr Sahan points to tax
avoidance as a challenge for some
countries. “Our calculations show that
developing countries are missing out on
over US$170bn a year because of use
of tax havens,” he says. “The amount of
nurses and teachers you could pay for
with that is huge.”
The inequality conundrum
11
Reducing inequality by country
% respondents
“Our calculations show
that developing countries
are missing out on over
$170 billion a year because
of use of tax havens ...
The amount of nurses and
teachers you could pay
for with that is huge.”
business and markets at Oxfam GB.
Kenya
India
Canada
Poland
Singapore
UK
Denmark
US
33.3%
24.4%
22.2%
22.2%
22.2%
22.2%
15.6%
13.3%
10% 20% 30%

12
Section 2
The Strategies

In a world with many seemingly
insurmountable challenges and
dwindling resources, what strategies
and investments best help a country
meet its social and economic goals?
The policymaker’s toolbox contains
a range of instruments, including
subsidies, grants and tax breaks,
awareness-raising and community
engagement. Strikingly, however,
collaboration emerges as a top lever
across countries and goals—between
the government and other groups,
internally between government
agencies and among administrators
at all levels. Nine in 10 respondents
describe collaboration and
partnerships as either “very important”
or “somewhat important”.
Public spending is also a key lever,
particularly for Canada, India and
the UK. Further, throughout the survey,
all forms of state support such as
subsidies, grants and tax breaks top
the global list to help nations progress
in a variety of areas, from job creation
and small business development to
innovation, infrastructure development,
entrepreneurial activities and
protecting the environment.
Financial incentives play a role
in improving education as well.
Policymakers polled largely agree that
better pay for teachers would best help
their country meet its education goals,
beating out universal testing in every
country save India as a top education
improvement lever. This points to the
importance of investing in people for
long-term returns. When it comes to
meeting healthcare goals, market
and regulatory forces also appear
to be an enabler. Lower medicine
and treatment prices rank highest to
improve access to healthcare.
While funding and costs are clearly
important drivers of success, Ms
Argilagos argues that cash injections
are not the only mechanisms
supporting progress. “We needed
more flexible financing,” she recalls
from her time in US government. “We
needed to be creative and figure out
how to make sure that resources get to
all levels of government.”
Individual efforts, through
entrepreneurship, are also celebrated
in the survey. Respondents in Poland,
for instance, consider this the top lever
to help accelerate progress towards
their economic and social goals.
Meanwhile, Singaporeans and Kenyans
are most likely to favour expanding
government programmes for job
creation, small business development
or entrepreneurial activities to meet
economic prosperity goals over the
next decade.
A diverse policy toolkit
13
Top 3 global levers
% respondents
“We need more flexible financing... We need to
be creative and figure out how to make sure that
resources get to all levels of government.”
Higher government
spending on social
and economic
programmes
Increased community
engagement in these
issues
42.2%
37.2%
34.7%
Preface
More collaboration
between the
government and
other groups including
businesses and non-
profits on these issues

Top 3 obstacles by country
% respondents
In a world bound by resource
constraints and uncertainty,
interconnected strategies and broader
cross-sector co-operation becomes
increasingly important. And many
policy goals cannot be addressed
in isolation. For example, the state
of a nation’s health is closely related
to education and inequality levels:
Richer, better-educated people live
longer than poorer, less-educated
people, according to the National
Longitudinal Mortality Survey, which
tracks the mortality of people originally
interviewed by the US Census Bureau.
So it is encouraging to see survey
respondents pointing to collaboration
as the most effective tool to meet their
social and economic goals.
When considering the institutional
support they need, the second biggest
group of respondents points to better
collaboration between agencies. And
when asked what external factors
would best help them meet their goals,
many indicated that they would seek
collaboration between national or
local governments in their region.
But connecting the dots is not easy
due to the siloed nature of government
departments and public funding
allocations–and often policymakers
fail to connect one problem with
another. For example, despite the
high ranking ascribed to improving
education by respondents in several
countries, few appear to have made
the connection between inequity
and educational performance.
“The education system doesn’t work in
isolation,” cautions Jake Anders, senior
research associate in the Department
of Learning and Leadership at UCL
Institute of Education. “Schools [can’t]
make up for everything else that’s going
on in young people’s lives and schools
can’t reverse massive inequalities.”
Breaking down barriers to boost collaboration
14
“The education
system doesn’t work in
isolation... Schools [can’t]
make up for everything
else that’s going on in
young people’s lives and
schools can’t reverse
massive inequalities.”
Jake Anders, senior research associate
in the Department of Learning and
Leadership at UCL Institute of education
Bureaucracy
Poor co-ordination between government entities
Corruption and misuse of funds
Lack of funding
Entrenched interests/Inertia
21 3
1 11
1
1
1
1 13 3
3
3 3
3
3
32 22 2 2
2
2
2

Meanwhile, investments by one
department or agency often go
unrecognised by others, reducing the
perceived need for collaboration.
Ford Foundation’s Ms Argilagos recalls
that while at the US Housing and
Urban Development agency, though
investments in housing also helped
improve healthcare and education,
these improvements were rarely
acknowledged. “We weren’t getting
any recognition, either from those
ministries or from Congress in our
budgets,” she says.
Reflecting this, survey respondents
cite poor government co-ordination
as a key obstacle (after bureaucracy)
to social and economic progress.
Respondents in the US were the
third-largest group to single out poor
government co-ordination as a top
obstacle and, strikingly, were the
largest group to cite bureaucracy —
perhaps reflecting the challenges of
the country’s multi-layered system of
government, involving federal, state,
county and city agencies.
As Casey Dunning, senior policy
analyst at the Center for Global
Development, points out, this is
multiplied in developing countries
such as Kenya. “Not only do they
need to co-ordinate among Kenyan
government authorities but also with
[development agencies from] the UK,
the US and Canada.”
But some governments are beginning
to recognise the need to address
interconnected problems more
broadly with interconnected strategies.
Ms Dunning cites Feed the Future, the
US government’s food security and
nutrition initiative, which incorporates
a strong focus on climate change.
The Obama administration, she says,
has embedded climate change
and environmental programmes into
many of the country’s development
programmes. “It’s making a bridge
between traditional development
activities and those with global public
good,” she explains.
Some governments are also linking
health and affordable housing. In
March, for instance, NHS England
(the division of the UK’s National
Health Service that serves residents of
England) announced a Healthy New
Towns programme; it will work with ten
new housing developments to improve
the health of residents and redesign
the delivery of healthcare services.
In Kenya, the Global Alliance for Clean
Cookstoves is working with partners
that include the health ministry and
the ministry responsible for
environment, water and natural
resources to raise adoption of clean
cookstoves and fuel to 5m households
by 2020 to reduce the indoor pollution
created by cookstoves and thus help
lower the risk of respiratory illness.
15
“Not only do they need
to co-ordinate among
Kenyan government
authorities but also
with [development
agencies from] the UK,
the US and Canada.”
Casey Dunning, senior policy analyst
at the Center for Global Development

Globally, policymakers recognise
the role technology plays in boosting
collaboration, transparency and
access to health, education and
financial services in both developed
and developing countries. In the survey,
too, technology emerges as a powerful
lever. Nearly all respondents consider
information and communications
technologies (ICTs) to be important in
meeting their governments’ goals in
the coming decade.
Policymakers see strong links between
technology and specific development
goals. Singapore’s Smart Nation
initiative uses digital technologies to
empower citizens to become innovators
who play a role in solving social and
economic challenges.
Healthcare is also ripe for technological
innovation, with mobile devices
increasingly enabling patients to
access health information, monitor
their diet or levels of exercise and
manage conditions such as diabetes.
This is reflected in the survey—when
considering where technology
might do most to help meet their
development goals, the top choice
for respondents globally is its use in
healthcare for monitoring and
analytics to respond to health risks.
And, overall, ICTs rank high among
respondents as a “very important”
lever to help improve education.
Technology as a development tool
16
...Technology emerges
as a powerful lever.
Nearly all respondents
consider Information
and Communications
Technologies (ICTs) to
be important in meeting
their government goals
in the coming decade.
Technological priorities by country
Healthcare monitoring/analytics for early
warning and responses to health risks
Increased broadband access for
job creation/entrepreneurial activities
Big data or Internet of Things use
for public infrastructure or services
Real-time monitoring, analysis of
and response to social or political unrest
Expanding the availability of and
training on ICTs in education
Open data for environmental analysis
Dashboards and other data visualization
tools to track progress on gender, income
and ethnic equality goals
1 1 11 1
1 1
1
1
3
3 =3
3 3 3
3
3 3
3
2 2 2
2 2
2
2 2
21 3
=1
An equal sign denotes
a tie among responses
=3 =3
=3
=2 =1
=1
=2

17
Technology can also help countries
overcome the limitations of poor
physical infrastructure, with the mobile
phone a tool facilitating everything
from banking to agricultural information
services for smallholder farmers.
Respondents in Kenya, for example, are
much more likely to point to increased
broadband access as a tool for job
creation and entrepreneurial activities
than their peers elsewhere. “Kenya is
an interesting case,” says the IIED’s Mr
Norton. “You have the rise of Silicon
Savannah and it’s really impressive
what some of the tech start-ups have
achieved.” Some reckon Kenya’s
booming Nairobi tech hub could
generate more than US$1bn for the
country by 2019.
Ms Dunning believes that technology
plays a pivotal role in social and
economic development, helping
developing countries leapfrog old and
go straight to the newest technologies,
but also reaching society’s most
marginalised. “Technology [will] better
identify and connect these populations
to services and opportunities,” she says.
Technology as a lever for social and economic progress
Percentage or respondents who selected technology as a top lever
“Kenya is an interesting
case... You have the rise
of Silicon Savannah and
it’s really impressive what
some of the tech start-ups
have achieved.”
Mr Norton of IIED
Poland
Singapore
India
US
UK
Kenya
Denmark
Canada
37.8%
37.8%
33.3%
33.3%
31.1%
28.9%
26.7%
17.8%
10% 20% 30%

In a resource-constrained and
unpredictable world, policymakers
may be tempted to put national
priorities such as boosting prosperity,
healthcare or education ahead of
global issues such as environmental
protection or the free flow of goods
and services. In the survey, for example,
a minority of policymakers favour the
removal of trade barriers and increased
global trade agreements.
Given the intertwined nature of today’s
challenges and the often-competing
priorities of economic growth and
environmental protection, treating
development goals as single issues
or as part of a national agenda will
be less effective than working across
disciplines and partnering with other
governments and sectors.
So, it is encouraging that respondents
consider collaboration to be the most
powerful tool in meeting development
goals. Moreover, decision-makers are
beginning to connect the dots between
overlapping priorities and finding
ways to link investments in one area
to advancing goals in another. “No
one single department can meet any
of these goals,” says Mr Sahan.” It will
require broad-based collaboration.”
This will not be easy. However, as the
responses to this survey demonstrate,
countries clearly feel empowered to
drive forward their national agendas.
And for governments that can become
more collaborative and flexible in how
they use the levers at their disposal,
delivering stability and prosperity may
be achievable. “It has to be a three-
legged stool—economic efficiency,
climate resilience and inclusion,” says
Ms Argilagos. “If you take off one the
legs, you’re not going to have strong,
durable, sustained growth.”
The way forward: A three-legged stool
18
“It has to be a three-legged stool – economic
efficiency, climate resilience and inclusion...
If you take off one the legs, you’re not going
to have strong, durable, sustained growth.”

Percentages may not add to 100% owing to rounding or
the ability of respondents to choose multiple responses.
19
Appendix:
Survey results
Increasing innovation in industry
Other
Don’t know
In your opinion, what social or economic goals will your country prioritise over the next 10 years? Please select up to three.
% respondents
In your opinion, how would you rate the capacity of your country to meet its social and economic goals in the next 10 years?
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
49%
39%
39%
37%
28%
26%
22%
22%
1%
0%
My country has adequate resources to meet its social and
economic goals
My country has more than sufficient resources to meet its social and
economic goals
My country has insufficient resources but strong political will to meet
its social and economic goals
My country has insufficient resources to meet its social and
economic goals, and lacks political will
Don’t know
10% 20% 30% 40%
41%
30%
22%
6%
1%

20
In your opinion, which of the following levers will best help your country meet its
top social and economic goals in the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
In your opinion, which of the following levers will help strengthen the
other levers of social or economic progress more than others, if any?
% respondents
In your opinion, what are the biggest obstacles to your country meeting its social and economic goals? Please select up to three.
% respondents
More collaboration between the government and other
groups including businesses and non-profits on these issues
Higher government spending on social and economic programmes
Increased community engagement in these issues
Increased access and use of ICTs (information and
communications technologies) in these areas
More innovation in these areas
Increased entrepreneurship
Increased government staffing in social and economic areas
10% 20% 30% 40%
42%
37%
35%
31%
31%
29%
23%
More collaboration between the government and other groups
including businesses and non-profits on these issues
Higher government spending on social and economic programmes
Increased access and use of ICTs (information and communications
technologies) in these areas
Increased entrepreneurship
Increased community engagement in these issues
More innovation in these areas
Increased government staffing in social and economic areas
5% 10% 15% 25%20%
24%
20%
15%
12%
11%
10%
8%
Bureaucracy
Poor co-ordination between government entities
Corruption and misuse of funds
Lack of funding
Entrenched interests/Inertia
Poor use of or access to technology
Few outreach efforts
Don’t know
Other
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
53%
45%
42%
30%
27%
13%
13%
2%
0%

Better recruitment, training and wages for teachers
Expanding school/curriculum choices, including vocational schools
Increased access to and use of ICTs in education
Uniform teaching/testing standards
More cross-sectoral collaboration between the government,
business and NGOs on educational issues
Increased community engagement in education
Universal pre-school education
Other
Don’t know
21
In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet
its healthcare goals over the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
its educational goals over the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
45%
41%
33%
30%
27%
26%
23%
0%
0%
Lower costs for medicines or treatment for patients
More efforts to raise awareness of health risks, prevention or treatment
Better training or recruitment of healthcare professionals
More cross-sectoral collaboration between the government
and other groups on healthcare issues
More innovation/R&D
Increased patient/community/student engagement in healthcare
Increased access to and use of ICTs for healthcare
Other
Don’t know
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
52%
44%
38%
29%
29%
24%
21%
2%
0%

More government programmes for job creation, small
business development or entrepreneurial activities
Providing skills development and mentoring to young people
Tax breaks and subsidies for job creation,
entrepreneurship and small businesses
More targeted policies addressing priority areas such as immigration
More cross-sectoral collaboration between the government,
business and NGOs on economic prosperity initiatives
Expanded efforts to inform the public of economic policy programmes
Increased access to and use of ICTs for government programmes
Other
Don’t know
22
In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its
economic prosperity goals over the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
51%
49%
44%
27%
23%
21%
18%
0%
0%
Tax breaks, grants or subsidies for
clean energy investment and consumption
More efforts to raise awareness about
environmental choices and their impact
Increased community engagement in environmental issues
More cleantech innovation/R&D
More cross-sectoral collaboration between
the government, business and NGOs
Carbon taxes or cap-and-trade laws
Increased access to and use of ICTs for data collection,
analytics and information sharing
Other
Don’t know
environmental goals over the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
48%
40%
38%
34%
29%
29%
16%
0%
0%

More apprenticeships or work-study programmes
Collaboration between the public sector,
business and NGOs on R&D and innovation
Creating policy incentives such as tax
breaks and subsidies to boost R&D
More focused innovation or R&D programmes within companies
Increased access to and use of ICTs
Prizes and grants to encourage innovation
More innovation-focused clusters (industry-focused office parks)
Other
Don’t know
Higher government spending on infrastructure
More cross-sectoral collaboration such as increased
public-private partnerships in infrastructure
Tax breaks, grants and subsidies to improve infrastructure
More community involvement in infrastructure
improvements such as volunteering or advocacy
More crowdsourcing of information to improve
infrastructure, services or respond to failures
Increased access to and use of ICTs for
infrastructure design or construction
Other
Don’t know
23
its innovation goals over the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
infrastructure goals over the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10%
10%
20%
20%
30%
30%
50%
50%
40%
40%
41%
39%
37%
31%
27%
25%
24%
0%
0%
50%
46%
38%
35%
28%
24%
0%
0%

More awareness of income, gender or ethnic
inequalities and their consequences
More community engagement in advocacy
or volunteering on inequality issues
More cross-sectoral collaboration between the
public sector, business and NGOs on inequality issues
Subsidies, grants or funding to reward efforts to improve inequality
More crowdsourcing of information to expose inequality
and its consequences, or to share success stories
Higher government spending
Increased access to and use of ICTs to measure
gaps and track progress in improving inequality
Other
Don’t know
24
In your opinion, which of the following will best help your country meet its equality
improvement goals over the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
50%
41%
33%
27%
25%
22%
20%
0%
0%
In your opinion, how important will partnerships/collaboration be to meet your
country’s social and economic goals in the coming decade?
% respondents
Very Important
Somewhat Important
Neither important nor unimportant
Somewhat unimportant
Very unimportant
Don’t know
20% 30% 40% 50%
53%
36%
6%
1%
1%
3%

25
Public-private partnerships in infrastructure upgrades
(government and business)
Community healthcare and patient advocacy programmes
(hospitals and communities)
Apprenticeships/vocational schools/back-to-work
programmes (businesses, government and schools)
Partnerships between communities, business
and schools to expand school choice
Environmental education programmes (NGOs and schools)
Closed-loop recycling programmes
(business, government and communities)
Inequality advocacy (business and communities)
Don’t know
Other
In your opinion, where can cross-sectoral partnerships or collaboration most
impact on your country’s social and economic goals? Please select up to three.
% respondents
In your opinion, how important will technology be to meet your government/
organisation’s social and economic goals in the coming decade?
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
46%
41%
40%
33%
28%
22%
21%
1%
0%
Very Important
Somewhat Important
Don’t know
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
58%
36%
4%
1%
1%

26
Healthcare monitoring/analytics for early
warning and responses to health risks
Increased broadband access for job
creation/entrepreneurial activities
Big data or Internet of Things use for
public infrastructure or services
Real-time monitoring, analysis of and
response to social or political unrest
Expanding the availability of and
training on ICTs in education
Open data for environmental analysis
Dashboards and other data visualization tools to track
progress on gender, income and ethnic equality goals
Don’t know
Other
In your opinion, where can technology most impact your country’s social and
economic goals? Please select up to three.
% respondents
In your opinion, how important will awareness-building be to meet your government/
organisation’s social and economic objectives in the coming decade?
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
53%
40%
33%
31%
28%
23%
22%
0%
0%
Very Important
Somewhat Important
Very unimportant
10% 20% 30% 40%
34%
45%
18%
2%
1%

27
Educating communities and businesses about the impacts of
their actions and environmental stewardship opportunities
Raising awareness about unhealthy choices
and promoting healthy alternatives
Publicising job and income generating opportunities
at schools and organisations
Informing communities about the payoffs of high-quality
education and creative learning methods
Shining a light on the social and economic consequences
of income, gender or ethnic inequalities and quantifying
the social and economic benefits of diversity
Disseminating information about infrastructure
improvements so that communities benefit
Other
Don’t know
In your opinion, where can awareness-building most impact your
country’s social and economic goals? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
48%
48%
37%
36%
36%
24%
0%
0%
Increased funding
Better collaboration/shared services between agencies/departments
Focused training and development
Longer-term planning and implementation
Clearer objectives and targets
More staff
Sharper strategic thinking
More political support from senior leaders
More input from citizens
Better access to ICTs
Other
Don’t know
What institutional support would best help your department carry out its mission? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
32%
29%
28%
28%
27%
25%
24%
18%
17%
15%
0%
0%

28
Addressing demographic challenges,
such as aging populations or immigration
More collaboration between national or
local governments in my region
More financing and support from the private sector
Removing trade barriers
Data collection and knowledge sharing across borders
More global trade agreements
Greater assistance and funding from donors,
philanthropists or multilateral banks
Other
Don’t know
In your opinion, which of the following external/global factors would best help
your country meet its social and economic goals? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
44%
40%
33%
30%
30%
28%
19%
0%
0%
Data analytics
Internal assessment
Benchmarking against policy goals, promises from officials or the
achievements or progress of similar countries
Citizens’ input into the process
External assessment by NGOs through programmes like the United
Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, World Economic Forum,
City Protocol, or OECD measures
External assessment by consultancies
None
Don’t know
infrastructure goals over the next decade? Please select up to three.
% respondents
10% 20% 30% 50%40%
38%
37%
34%
25%
23%
23%
1%
3%
Position of participants
% respondents
With which country is the organisation
you work for affiliated
% respondents
73% 17%
10%
Civil Servant Appointed
Official
Elected
Official
Geographic coverage of
participating organisations
% respondents
Canada Denmark India Kenya
Poland Singapore UK US
13%
13%
13%
13%
13%
13%
13%
13%
33.3%42.2%
Federal/national Local including
county or
municipal
24.4%
State/
provincial

29
Main functional roles of respondents
% respondents
General management
IT
Policy/Programme development
Operations and production
Human resources
Finance
Serving a constituency/citizens/members
Legal/Procurement
Strategy development
R&D
Information and research
Supply chain management
Risk
Legislator
Marketing
Other
25%
19%
14%
11%
10%
9%
9%
6%
6%
5%
4%
4%
3%
2%
2%
0%
5% 10% 15% 25%20%
Primary focus of respondent organisations
% respondents
Education & Training
Healthcare & wellbeing
Banking, finance or treasury
Agriculture
Commerce & trade
Employment & entrepreneurship
Energy & utilities
Environmental protection
Housing
Law & order
Technology & communications
Transportation & infrastructure
Youth
Women or other minority
Military & security
Arts & recreation
Water & sanitation
Other
8%
8%
7%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
5%
4%
4%
2%
2% 4% 6% 10%8%

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