ICTworks

The Sustainable Development Goals represent a unique opportunity for the world to work together on 17 critical measures that embody the collective aspirations of the world’s citizens. Developed through the most consultative process in United Nations history, the SDGs are both an opportunity to improve the lives of millions and a challenge for our collective intent in the coming years.

Reaching the SDGs will enable all of us to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. It will not be an easy task, and to make meaningful progress, we will need to leverage the best tools available.

Undoubtedly, technology has tremendous potential to accelerate progress towards reaching the SDGs: from connectivity to cloud computing to the Internet of Things, new and evolving technologies can help increase scale, improve impact, enhance program design and measure results in ways that simply were not possible just a few years ago.

Used well, technology can help us realize the SDGs for our collective benefit. Nonprofit organizations are often at the forefront of addressing the SDGs. But for many nonprofits, understanding which technologies hold the most promise and how to implement technology most effectively is daunting and, sometimes, overwhelming.

Introducing the SDG ICT Playbook

NetHope, a collaboration of the world’s leading humanitarian and conservation nonprofits, is pleased to partner with CRS, Intel, Microsoft, CDW and the UN Foundation on the SDG ICT Playbook. Each of the supporting organizations has been generous with their expertise and knowledge to create a tool that will contribute to achievement of the SDGs.

The SDG ICT Playbook was designed to help bridge that gap and help all organizations committed to achieving the SDGs use technology effectively for real impact. The playbook addresses ten technology areas and explores how each might be applied to achieve the SDGs .

We provide a basic overview of each, discuss benefits, trends and challenges and make recommendations for what nonprofits, governments and the private sector can do to enhance the impact of these promising technologies against the SDGs. It is designed to be informative and actionable, a utilitarian resource for any organization seeking to leverage the most promising tools to address the highest priority challenges our world faces.

We hope you find the SDG ICT Playbook useful and that, as your organization explores solutions and finds promising approaches, you will share your learning with others. Thank you for your commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and for striving to make our world a more just, inclusive, safe and prosperous one.

Lauren Woodman, Chief Executive Officer, NetHope