Why i SDG?

The proper integration of policy interventions in different areas can make the difference between achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and failure.

The Integrated model for Sustainable Development Goals strategies (iSDG) offers this capability.

Watch the short video below to learn more about how the iSDG model can be useful in designing effective strategies for sustainable development.

Integrated planning 

The iSDG model enables policy makers and planning officials at all levels of governance to understand the interconnectedness of policies designed to achieve the SDGs and test their likely impacts before adopting them.

An integrated analysis is required to successfully address complex development issues that balance social, economic, and environmental development. By bringing together the three dimensions of sustainable development into one framework, the iSDG model enables broad, cross-sector and long-term analyses of the impacts of alternative policies.

The model simulates the fundamental trends for SDGs until 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario, and supports the analysis of relevant alternative scenarios. It also traces the trends beyond the SDGs’ time span to 2050. The iSDG model is especially useful both in the early stages of policy design, to support scenario exploration, and in its advanced stage, when specific interventions designed for various sectors can be jointly simulated to assess their combined effect and the emerging synergies.

The model is structured to allow for rapid expansion to support the analysis of other country-specific development issues beyond the SDGs. Its user-friendly desktop interface allows various stakeholders to use it, and a portable version is also being developed.

The iSDG model was constructed starting from the well-vetted, time tested and validated Threshold21 (T21)® model, covers all the 17 Goals including 78 SDG indicators, and supports a better understanding of the interconnections of the goals and targets, in order to develop synergetic strategies to achieve them.

In its Core version, the iSDG model supports the simulation of policies in 36 different areas, and many more can be added to satisfy specific analytical needs. Watch the video tutorial below to see how the model can be used to support the analysis of the impact of a policy directed to achieve the SDGs.

The iSDG model includes a broad variety of tools hat support the in-depth analysis of simulation results, and their visualization in different formats. The Synergy Assessment Tool is especially useful in that it enables the automatic assessment of the contribution of each policy within a comprehensive strategy to the final results, and the synergies that might emerge from the interaction among policies. Watch the tutorial below to find out more about the Synergy Assessment Tool and other useful features.

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country reports

The iSDG model can be used to support the development of a broad variety of policy documents. This series includes country reports assessing progress towards the SDGs under different policy scenarios and peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Policy coherence to achieve the SDGs: using integrated simulation models to assess effective policies

Coherently addressing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals requires planning tools that guide policy makers. Given the integrative nature of the SDGs, we believe that integrative modelling techniques are especially useful for this purpose. In this paper, we present and demonstrate the use of the new System Dynamics based iSDG family of models. We use a national model for Tanzania to analyse impacts of substantial investments in photovoltaic capacity. Our focus is on the impacts on three SDGs: SDG 3 on healthy lives and well-being, SDG 4 on education, and SDG 7 on energy. In our simulations, the investments in photovoltaics positively affect life expectancy, years of schooling and access to electricity. More importantly, the progress on these dimensions synergizes and leads to broader system-wide impacts. While this one national example illustrates the anticipated impact of an intervention in one specific area on several SDGs, the iSDG model can be used to support similar analyses for policies related to all the 17 SDGs, both individually and concurrently. We believe that integrated models such as the iSDG model can bring interlinks to the forefront and facilitate a shift to a discussion on development grounded in systems thinking.

Cote d'Ivoire iSDG Report

This research report is the first in a series of national studies assessing the potential achievement of the SDGs under different scenarios. Using the iSDG model, we compare the results for the 17 SDGs by 2030 under three scenarios in Cote d’Ivoire: a business as usual (BAU) scenario; a National Prospective Study scenario (NPS), representing the policies included in the “Cote d’Ivoire Vision 2040”; and a SDG scenario that combines the NPS scenario and additional policy interventions not covered in the Cote d’Ivoire Vision 2040. The analysis shows that in our optimistic scenario Core d’Ivoire can attain a level of achievement of the SDGs of about 67%; and that major synergies would emerge from the joint planning and implementation of the proposed interventions.