WAIT-AND-SEE OR TAKE THE LEAD? Approaches of Dutch CSOs to the Sustainable Development Goals

december 2015

Traditionally, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play a major role in the Dutch development policy process: in implementation of development cooperation policies, monitoring of policies, advocacy, and/or in raising public awareness. This also applies to the role of Dutch CSOs in other policy fields, such as the environmental sector; however, these policy fields and the officiating CSOs mostly work rather isolated from the development agenda. The new Agenda 2030 is likely to transform this landscape as the universal nature of the Agenda requires action abroad and at home, both on development issues and on sustainability issues. The main question in this policy brief is the following: How does the new SDG agenda relate to the role Dutch civil society can play in contributing to (sustainable) development? To answer this question, we conducted research among Dutch CSOs using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.