Among the key lessons learned from international development experience to date, one in particular stands out -- that public policies work best when they are designed and implemented by actors on the ground.
This applies to domestic as well as regional and international policies, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Without context-specific data and analysis, well-intentioned programmes and policies often do not respond to the lived realities of people in developing countries. Furthermore, without local actors in place to monitor implementation, the most thoughtfully designed projects may lose momentum or even collapse over the longer term.
