Giving Compass' Take:

• Paloma Duran,  Director of the SDG Fund, describes how public and private partnerships will help drive progress in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• What are some examples of current partnerships that are successful?

• Read the new era of partnerships and alliances for the SDGs.

Paloma Duran is the Director of the SDG Fund.

Q: Why are public and private partnerships essential to the implementation of the SDGs?

A: I think that the beauty of this development agenda, and inherent in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is that these goals are universal…they encourage all actors, stakeholders, public and private institutions to play a role in developing and shaping their communities. That said, without the support of the government in development, private sector initiatives can also be hampered and vice versa.

Business will not replace the government in establishing central policies for the SDGs or in evaluating national targets and indicators — but are essential partners to investment, job creation and creating a stabilizing force for communities.

Q: How does the SDG Fund play its role in enhancing the partnership with the private sector?

A: We know from our extensive experience over the last few years that business wants to be engaged more directly in the development process. They no longer want to be thought of as just the donor, in fact, we know that many companies want to be engaged and part of any partnership process with the United Nations. In some instances, this means helping to co-design and co-create programs in a meaningful way. The SDG Fund has seen the value of this and we have convened what we believe to be key allies in this effort, with our Private Sector Advisory Group, that helps guide us in our work.

Read the full interview with Paloma Duran on the private sector and the SDGs by Cinantyan Prapatti at Medium