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The indicator tracks the number of mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence of sustainable development.

This is primarily a policy process indicator, and the indicator related work will likely be undertaken in two stages:

1. 1^st Stage (Initial draft methodology), using UN Environment’s existing work on sustainable development policy to develop a framework for assessing policy coherence, including the development of methodological specifications, the definition of recommendations to build capacity on the indicator and development of a plan for implementation of the indicator. 
2. 2^nd Stage (Technical review and piloting in countries), supporting countries in using the framework to assess their own policy coherence, including piloting in countries, incorporating feedback from countries and self-assessment by countries.

This indicator is a composite indicator that covers mechanisms related to

1. Institutionalization of Political Commitment
2.  Long-term considerations in decision-making
3. Inter-ministerial and cross-sectoral coordination
4.  Participatory processes
5. .Policy linkages
6. Alignment across government levels
7. Monitoring and reporting for policy coherence
8. Financing for policy coherence

Number of mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence of sustainable development

Percentage of points (%)

Enhancing policy coherence for sustainable development is important for achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions (economic, social and environmental) in a balanced and integrated manner; for ensuring coherence between policies at various levels of government; and for ensuring that policies in different sectors are mutually supportive and do not work against each other. It is also important in addressing the impacts of domestic policy internationally. Policy coherence aims, as a minimum, to identify trade-offs and mitigate negative impacts between policies. At a more ambitious level, it should also aim to foster synergies and produce policies that mutually reinforce each other.

Types of mechanisms and areas of coherence that could be measured The indicator methodology attempts to capture various forms of policy coherence, including:

•  Vertical coherence between different levels of government, from local to national
•  Horizontal coherence across key government ministries, departments and agencies and across sectors and themes
• Transboundary coherence, i.e. between national and international policy and across national boundaries
•  Temporal coherence, promoting a long-term vision and coherence across political mandates
•  Political or intrinsic coherence (i.e. taking a policy decision through all the steps necessary to translate it into action)

Mechanisms to promote better coherence in these areas can vary greatly from country to country and can take different forms. However, based on existing practice, it is possible to identify a range of mechanisms that are likely to enhance policy coherence for sustainable development, and therefore the presence of a combination of these mechanisms in a given country would indicate progress toward meeting this indicator.

is by type of mechanism. 

This indicator includes 8 domains. Each is scored on a 0-10 point scale. The percentage of points out of the total 80 points is then computed for each country. It is recommended that Governments convene a stakeholder group for self-scoring. The below table can be used for scoring. Full details are in the document “Methodology for SDGindicator 17.14.1: Mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence for sustainable development”. 

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All the metadata shown in this document was gathered from United Nation Statistics Division. The metadata was extracted from https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/ and https://environmentlive.unep.org/media/docs/projects/metadata_17_14_1.pdf.