The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) published guidelines on August 20 to help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) implement Agenda 2030* with the aim of achieving the Strategic Development Goals (SDGs).

The publication highlights the importance of excellent planning if Agenda 2030 is to be implemented, indicating the key challenges on the road to achieving the SDGs over the long term. It also points to the importance of keeping all the goals integrated, acknowledging the close relationship between the different SDGs while assessing how reaching one goal can have an impact on achieving the others and how, using this analysis, priorities can be set, without losing sight of the integral nature of Agenda 2030.

The document analyzes the different methodological phases in the implementation:

1. Identifying critical points between Agenda 2030 and the planning instruments. It endeavors to support the process of implementing the SDGs by using a tool that links the targets in Agenda 2030 with the specific targets in a national development plan
2. Planning systems and their linkage with SDGs. This phase aims to establish how the planning system of the country being analyzed is set up, and to assess whether it is propensive or not to carrying out actions to achieve the priority goals
3. Self-assessment of planning systems: Barometer plan. This formulates proposals for improvement after analyzing the development planning systems in place
4. SDGs and the citizenry. This point identifies public and private players who can contribute, or not, to achieving the goals
5. The challenge of the different sectors involved in the implementation of Agenda 2030. This identifies the relationships between the sectors implicated in achieving the selected Goal and targets.
6. The challenge of different time spans in the implementation of Agenda 2030. This phase identifies the relationships between the development plan's long, medium and short-term targets.
7. Formulating the roll-out strategy for Agenda 2030 at a local level. This seeks to generate a set of recommendations so that the planning system can incorporate and implement Agenda 2030.
8. Analyzing future scenarios. This provides guidelines for exploring possible future scenarios and helps to establish lines of action before they occur, thus creating conditions in which the planning goals can be achieved.