Political Leadership for Sustainable Development

Why do the SDGs matter to politicians, and why do politicians matter for the SDGs? 

 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the most comprehensive and broad-ranging political commitments that exist at global level.  

Whether you are a resident of Delhi worried about increasing levels of pollution, or a constituent in Limerick concerned about access to housing, the SDGs are quantifiable goals that can be used to hold your government to account. 

However, if elected officials aren’t aware of the scope of the Goals, the commitments that underpin them, or the tools they offer to bring about positive change in the communities they represent, this cannot happen. 

In 2019, I was invited by IDEA as part of the EU Bridge 47 project to develop a training on Political Leadership for Sustainable Development. Working together with Women for Election, a non-partisan organisation that encourages women in Ireland to run for political office, this training would support women councillors to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the role of the SDGs, what they could do to support the achievement of the Goals and what the Goals can do to support them in their work. 

Developing the Training 

Part of the brief was to use the participatory methodologies that comprise the Global Citizenship Education approach.  

It was also critical that the day was tailored to reflect the specific role of councillors, what they have power and control over, and the different levels of prior knowledge and experience of the SDGs that a diverse group of councillors from across the country would bring. 

As a result, the training was designed to be practical and action-focused: giving participants the tools to come up with action plans, share experiences and identify concrete steps they could take in their own areas to advance the SDGs.  As well as providing participants with tools and content to strengthen their knowledge about the SDGs, it was critical to ensure they had the time and space to reflect on what this new approach could mean for their office, as well as the opportunity to brainstorm with other women in the same role. We used scenarios that were commonly faced by councillors, and participants linked them to the relevant SDGs, working together to identify strategies and approaches. 

The inclusion of an external speaker with a political background to talk about the importance of the SDGs meant that there was an opportunity to ask questions of someone who had been in the same position, with the same challenges, and brought an important sense of realism and opportunity to the day. 

Opportunity for Change 

Three trainings were held, with representatives from across Ireland.  

The energy and enthusiasm with which the participants engaged in the day is hugely encouraging, as is their recognition that the SDGs matter for local government. It will take some time to see if this new understanding will change their approach, but one thing is clear: If we are to make significant progress on the SDGs, political leadership for sustainable development is essential. However, if the engagement of the women councillors who participated is anything to go by, there is reason for us to be optimistic.  

 

This blog is written by Maeve Bateman.

Launch of IDEA's Theory of Impact for GCE

September 26, 2025
Date: Tuesday, 04 November, from 3.30–4.30pm Location: Online via Zoom IDEA is thrilled to invite members to the online launch of our new “Theory of Impact for Global Citizenship Education” on Tuesday, 04 November, from 3.30–4.30pm, Online via Zoom. During this session, we will present the model, share insights into the process behind its development, and explore how it will be used to strengthen impact across the sector. We will also introduce a new tool in progress, an interactive data visualisation map designed to showcase our collective impact as a network. For many years, IDEA and its members have been grappling with the concept of impact in Development Education/Global Citizenship Education (hereinafter ‘GCE’). As GCE practitioners, tracking impact helps us to identify how, where and with whom our work is creating positive change, as well as investigating areas in which our impact could be stronger. Furthermore, we can also benefit from examining the collective impact of GCE carried out by the wide-ranging work of IDEA members, and from exploring how these impacts contribute to the major social changes to which the GCE community aspires. Driven therefore by the need to understand how projects and programmes are collectively “making a difference” in IDEA we looked at models that could help us visualise and capture GCE “impact networks”. We formulated our vision of impact and then a theory of how we expect this desired impact to be achieved to allow us to map our activities and collect data to corroborate that theory. This Theory of Impact model is how we hope to illustrate this complex GCE impact network. Building on work done by IDEA over many years including building sectoral capacity in using Results Frameworks for GCE, our Quality & Impact working group, engagement with Irish Aid on their Performance Measurement Framework (PMF), and the successful roll-out of a Code of Good Practice for DE/GCE, this Theory of Impact represent the next stage of our effort to ‘develop a consistent approach to measuring impact among the sector’. We are therefore thrilled to invite you to the presentation of our ‘Theory of Impact for GCE’. At this online presentation, we will tell you about the process that led to the creation of this model, how it will be used and what we hope it could bring to the sector. We will also touch on a new tool being developed based on the model, which should allow the creation of an interactive data visualisation map of our collective impact as a network. Join us as we launch into this exciting new phase of our Impact Measurement work. Join us as we begin this exciting new phase of our Impact Measurement work. Register below!

IDEA Advocacy Toolkit and GCE Policy Guide Workshop, November

September 26, 2025
Date: 11 November, 10.30am – 4.30pm. Location: IDEA offices, 6 Gardiner Row IDEA launched its new Advocacy Toolkit and GCE Policy Guide resource pack in early March. The advocacy toolkit and policy guide were developed for IDEA members to strengthen their capacity to effectively advocate with policymakers and to actively engage in policy processes on GCE in Ireland and the wider world. IDEA will facilitate a full-day in-person workshop on these resources in the IDEA offices on Tuesday, 11 November ,10.30am – 4.30pm. Places are limited to 20 participants and will be given on a first come, first served basis. Please note that this is a repeat of the workshop that took place in May and is aimed at members who did not have the opportunity to participate in May. A vegetarian lunch will be provided. Register below!

Workshop: Brave Spaces for Racial Justice

September 26, 2025
Date: 06 November a nd 18 November from 3.30–4.30pm Location: IDEA offices, 6 Gardiner Row, Dublin 1 Due to positive feedback following a workshop during our annual conference, we are thrilled to invite members to a full 2-part interactive workshop about “Racial Justice” on 06 November and 18 November. This event will take place in-person in Dublin. Our facilitators Bronwyn April and Mdahyelya Bassi will guide participants through a critical exploration of the interconnections between racial justice, philanthropy, migration, and decolonisation within global and Irish contexts. The workshop will delve into how historical and ongoing colonial legacies influence contemporary issues of racial equity and social justice in Ireland and beyond. The dates for this event are fast approaching, so if you have any specific accessibility requirements, please email events@ideaonline.ie as soon as possible. Places for this event are limited, and registration is mandatory. Deadline to register is Monday, 04 November. Register below!