Reports

OECD Contributions to the 2030 Agenda and beyond: Shaping a sustainable future for all provides a roadmap, based on OECD knowledge, data, tools and best practices, for national and international action to prepare for future challenges and opportunities. It examines the critical role of robust governance in protecting our planet and ensuring a prosperous future for all. The report outlines five key priorities for achieving a sustainable and equitable future, including effective institutions, effective policies, innovative solutions, harnessing the power of science and technology, and navigating the complexities of financing sustainable development. It shares practical insights and explores strategies for empowering youth and future generations as key stakeholders in building a resilient world. The report provides a comprehensive resource for national and international policymakers seeking to translate the Sustainable Development Goals into concrete action.

Faced with multiple priorities, including the imperative of accelerating the global green transition, development co-operation providers are at risk of losing sight of a silent, yet devastating crisis that has been unfolding even before the COVID-19 pandemic: the alarming increase of poverty and inequalities in low and middle-income countries. And yet, not only are ending poverty and reducing inequalities at the core of their mandates, both are also essential to meeting their broader ambitions in terms of sustainable development worldwide. What opportunities – and risks – is the climate priority posing for the fight against poverty and inequality? Can just, green transitions reinvigorate development agendas? How can international development co-operation policy and finance help? Bringing together the latest evidence, data and insights from governments, academia, international organisations and civil society, the OECD Development Co-operation Report 2024 provides policy makers with concrete ways of delivering on their commitments to improve the lives of billions while fostering green, just transitions around the world.

This toolkit offers practical advice to development co-operation and humanitarian assistance providers adhering to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance. It helps them implement the Recommendation’s provisions to strengthen local ownership and leadership, and support civil society in partner countries as independent development and humanitarian actors – particularly through more equitable partnerships between and within civil society organisations (CSOs). It is a companion piece to the 2023 OECD toolkit of the same series, Funding civil society in partner countries: Toolkit for Implementing the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance.

Armenia's ICT sector has experienced remarkable growth, expanding by 20% in 2022, underscoring the country's commitment to digital transformation as a policy priority. Despite these efforts and trends, SMEs continues to face significant obstacles in their digital transformation, including lack of awareness, low digital skills levels, and financial constraints. This reports aims to support the Armenian government in addressing these challenges and fostering business digitalisation. Building on previous OECD work on digitalisation policies and insights from the 2024 edition of the SME Policy Index for Eastern Partner countries, this publication offers a comprehensive overview of Armenia’s institutional framework and policy initiatives for SME digitalisation. Through data-driven analysis, it examines the challenges hindering the digital transformation of Armenian businesses and provides insights to unlock their potential. This report serves as a guide, offering detailed recommendations aimed at improving framework conditions for SME digitalisation, building a structured system for SME digitalisation support, and fostering synergies in the ecosystem to facilitate digital transformation.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) conducts peer reviews of individual members once every five to six years. Reviews seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of members’ development co-operation, highlighting good practices and recommending improvements. France has embarked on an ambitious reform of its development co-operation in institutional, strategic and financial terms. In addition to a substantial increase in the resources devoted to official development assistance and a strengthening of its crisis response instruments, France has championed the linkages between the green and social agendas and the mobilisation of the private sector for sustainable development. The review discusses the difficult balance between the objectives of visibility and development impact, particularly in fragile contexts. It makes recommendations on combining political impetus, steering by objectives and flexibility; deepening the cross-benefits between the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainable development; and, strengthening the contribution of local private sector to poverty reduction by optimising available resources and instruments.

Africa’s Development Dynamics uses lessons from Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa to develop policy recommendations and share good practices across the continent. Drawing on the most recent statistics, its analysis of development dynamics aims to assist African leaders in reaching the targets of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 at all levels: continental, regional, national and local. This edition explores how African governments, firms and educational institutions can increase the supply of quality skills, in line with current and future demand, to create jobs and increase productivity. Global trends, like the digital and green transitions, Africa’s demographic growth, and the regionalisation of international trade are shaping future skills demand. The report's two continental chapters examine the gaps in foundational, soft and technical skills and identify policy solutions to develop a skilled workforce. Five regional chapters offer recommendations for skills development in strategic areas including mining, digital technologies, renewable energy and agri-food. Africa’s Development Dynamics feeds into a policy debate between the African Union’s governments, citizens, entrepreneurs and researchers. It proposes a new collaboration between countries and regions, focusing on mutual learning and the preservation of common goods. This report results from the partnership between the African Union Commission and the OECD Development Centre.

This report assesses and monitors progress in the design and implementation of SME policies in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. It was developed as part of the OECD LAC Regional Programme, in co-operation with CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA). The 2024 report tracks progress made since 2019 across eight policy dimensions and presents the latest key findings on SME development and related policies. It identifies emerging challenges impacting SMEs in the region and provides recommendations for governments to build a successful SME sector. The 2024 edition, the second in the series, benefits from an updated methodology that analyses SME digital transformation support policies, introduces a green economy pilot dimension, and incorporates a cross-cutting gender approach. This edition extends the coverage by introducing two new countries (Brazil and Paraguay) to the already seven participating countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay), guaranteeing the inclusion of all members of the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur.

Egypt is a rapidly growing emerging economy and a demographic heavyweight on the African continent. High population growth, land-use change, pollution and climate change are increasingly putting pressure on the natural environment, including on its rich biodiversity. Egypt has achieved relative decoupling of greenhouse gas emissions from economic growth, though it needs to further mainstream climate action across sectors and progressively raise ambition. As one of the world’s most water-stressed countries, greater use of economic instruments would help address scarcity and improve water quality. As part of Egypt’s Vision 2030, the government is committed to turning environmental challenges into opportunities. It has taken steps to move towards more sustainable waste management and address air pollution, which remains a health concern. Egypt has significant potential to accelerate its clean energy transition. While environmental information and data have improved overall, public participation in environmental decision making needs to be further enhanced. This is the first Green Growth Policy Review of Egypt. It examines progress towards sustainable development and green growth over the past decade. The 40 recommendations aim to help Egypt improve its environmental performance, giving a special focus to building climate-smart, resilient and inclusive cities.

This Policy Guidance aims to support the effective and practical delivery of official development assistance (ODA) for inclusive governance, focusing on the central elements of a development project or programme – analytics and diagnostics, programme design and implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning. Issued by the Governance Network of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), this Guidance for governance practitioners recommends a series of policy and practical measures designed to reduce social, political and economic exclusion, and enable more inclusive development impacts. Building on a dedicated multi-year programme of work, expert insights and the contributions of a designated Advisory Group, it underscores the significance of inclusive governance as a central attribute of SDG16 and the basis for equitable and sustainable development.

This Toolkit synthesises learning and examples gathered from Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and partners, including their work through international fora such as the OECD, as well as additional research. It aims to support DAC members and partners in deepening their work and accelerate progress on any number of topics contained within the DAC Recommendation’s six pillars. Progress in Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) prevention and response can be very incremental and difficult to measure, in part because it relies on addressing the many underlying factors that support the perpetuation of SEAH, such as cultural and social norms, as well as power dynamics. This Toolkit aims to support progress by DAC members on both technical and political levels, as well as support their coordination efforts with their partners to work towards long-term, sustainable change.