The High Impact Initiatives serve a dual purpose to demonstrate that transformative progress is possible despite challenging circumstances, and to mobilize further leadership and investment to bring such progress to scale in the second half of the SDGs. The twelve Initiatives will endeavour to mobilize specific commitments and coalitions of support for national and local level implementation. The launch of the High Impact Initiatives at the 2023 SDG Summit will be an inflection point; elevating twelve solutions that set the stage for sustained political mobilization and implementation between now and 2030.
The process for soliciting and selecting the High Impact Initiatives was rigorously managed. An initial call for proposals was shared in February 2023 from the Deputy Secretary-General with all UNSDG members. In total, over 120 submissions were submitted by more than thirty different UNSDG entities. Further analysis and discussion by the Internal SDG Summit Steering Committee identified twelve key themes that were transformative in nature; capable of effecting measurable change; intentionally synergistic and cross-cutting; built on multisectoral and international partnerships; future-oriented; and actively involved with more than one UN entity. The twelve High Impact Initiatives were formally announced in letters from the Deputy Secretary General to UN Principals on 19 May 2023 and to Member States on 25 May 2023.
The High Impact Initiatives were developed to create a cohesive portfolio, which will demonstrate that SDG progress is possible and accelerate such progress between now and 2030. To this end, the portfolio of High Impact Initiatives was designed with twelve key areas that correspond with six major transitions (energy, education, food systems, social protection, and jobs, digitalization, and our natural environment), five critical means of implementation (finance, trade, data, governance, and localization), and an example of the transversal priority of
gender equality.
The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions represents the social protection and jobs transition in the portfolio of High Impact Initiatives.
For more information on the High Impact Initiatives, please visit the HII website.