Aligning South Africa's National Development Plan with the 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals : guidelines from the Policy Coherence for Development movement

Abstract

Sustainable development depends on coherence between the development policies of recipients and the providers of development assistance. Yet achieving coherence is difficult. This paper examines the extent to which the Policy Coherence for Development movement offers guidelines for aligning national development priorities with global development priorities. This qualitative paper focuses on alignment between South Africa's National Development and its Medium‐Term Strategic Frameworks and the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. Based on an analysis of policy documents and peer‐reviewed research on the Policy Coherence for Development movement, it is argued that five guidelines might be of relevance for South Africa, namely (i) prioritizing political buy‐in, (ii) safeguarding country ownership of development priorities, (iii) using and improving existing institutional structures and processes, (iv) stimulating cooperation across government departments by using an issue‐based approach and (v) including a long‐term and transnational perspective when considering policy impacts.