Policy coherence does not happen automatically. It is a political choice by governments to establish supporting institutional structures and take specific initiatives. Enhancing PCSD as called for in SDG target 17.14 will depend on mechanisms to anticipate, balance and reconcile divergent policy pressures, including conflicting domestic and international priorities; opposing economic, social and environmental concerns; competing sectoral interests; and reconciling short-term priorities with the long-term policy direction integral to attaining sustainable development objectives.

The experiences of OECD countries in promoting policy coherence for development over the past two decades, as well as in implementing national sustainable development strategies (NSDS) in accordance with Agenda 21, has led the OECD to identify eight building blocks essential for coherent SDG implementation: (i) political commitment; (ii) policy integration; (iii) intergenerational timeframe; (iv) policy effects; (v) co-ordination; (vi) local involvement; (vii) stakeholder participation; and (viii) monitoring and reporting.

These building blocks represent structures, processes and working methods that can facilitate improvements in policy coherence and are applicable to countries regardless of their administrative and political traditions. The country notes explore them in more detail for 19 OECD members.

   Czech Republic

   Finland 

   Ireland

  Italy

  Japan

   Latvia

  Lithuania

  Luxembourg

   Mexico

  The Netherlands

  Poland

   Portugal

  Slovak Republic

  Slovenia  

   Sweden

  Switzerland