Interlinkages for sustainable development: the final steps towards the Post-2015 Development Agenda Workshop Chair’s Summary On March 19th and 20th 2015, the Governments of Mexico and the United Kingdom jointly convened a workshop to discuss key elements for the implementation of a transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda. The event was attended by government representatives responsible for the Post-2015 Development Agenda from 22 countries, agents from national and international civil society organizations and think tanks, experts from international organizations and development banks, and civil servants in charge of the implementation of developmental policies in Mexico. Participants exchanged experiences and visions on how to achieve and implement a truly transformative development Agenda. This included discussion of the challenges posed regarding domestic implementation, including the quality of institutions, given that there are only six months until the adoption of the post-2015 agenda. Among the main conclusions, we can highlight:  Sustainable development is an interlinked and multidimensional process. It is necessary to develop new perspectives for successful implementation, taking into account that the post-2015 framework must be a people-centred agenda.  Goal 16, relating to the rule of law, access to justice, participation and the quality of institutions, is key to sustainable development.  The data revolution, as well as transparency and accountability, will be indispensable to ensuring the successful implementation of the agenda. The participants acknowledged the importance of this kind of initiative to contribute to a positive atmosphere in the intergovernmental negotiations running up to the Summit in September 2015. Panel discussions: Challenges related to the implementation of an interlinked development agenda  There was a strong recognition of the intertwined and multidimensional character of the post-2015 Development Agenda. This creates a challenge for the implementation of the goals given that it will be necessary to balance the people-centered character of the agenda with the need to deliver meaningful results across the three dimensions of sustainable development. 1|Pag e    The core question lies in how the post-2015 goals will be implemented in a way that will be transformative at country and global levels. Some countries shared information about the national initiatives they are pursuing to implement the goals over the coming years, and emphasized the need to increase cooperation across all sectors of government. Civil society participation and private sector involvement were recognized as important for the successful implementation of the post-2015 agenda. It will be necessary to strengthen the sense of ownership that all development actors have over the Post-2015 Agenda. A number of participants emphasized that implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda will be a challenge, in particular when working to achieve results for the most marginalized and deprived in isolated communities. Relevance of Goal 16 to sustainable development    As an interlinked developmental agenda, participants recognized the significance of the rule of law and the quality of institutions for achieving sustainable development and peaceful and inclusive societies. The universality of Goal 16 was stressed, as well as its relevance to all other goals in the post-2015 agenda. For example, robust legal frameworks, legal empowerment, good governance, transparency, accountability and access to justice are all necessary for the regulation of markets, monopolies, and macroeconomic policy, and also for the protection of consumer rights. Rule of law is also necessary for a range of development outcomes, including health care, education and social services, gender equality and empowerment of women, environmental protection, poverty eradication, and human rights. There was a call to consider ways in which Goal 16 can support poverty eradication. It will be necessary to think about ways in which the rule of law can support individuals and communities to fulfill their rights. Data revolution for a transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda      There was widespread support among participants for using the data revolution as a key component of the implementation and monitoring of the Post-2015 Agenda. Open data will be an important tool for the formulation of participatory and evidencebased public policy. Data analysis can highlight social disparities and institutional constraints or malfunctions which might otherwise be invisible. This will be crucial if the Post-2015 Development Agenda is to truly leave no one behind. The data revolution poses great challenges and opportunities for sustainable development, for instance, on how to aggregate and disaggregate information, or how to build reliable, sustained, and accountable data. Many observed that data systems are costly. Financing and cooperation can deliver better results in this regard. It was also stressed that a large number of countries are still lacking in basic data collection services such as household surveys. These will be crucial if we are going to be able t0 fully implement the Post-2015 Agenda. 2|Pag e Towards the Summit for the Post-2015 Development Agenda       Achieving a transformative post-2015 development agenda will require greater levels of ambition, and provides an opportunity to enhance public policy deployment and new modes of engagement. Regarding the follow-up and review process, there has been progress made through ECOSOC reform and the creation of the High Level Political Forum, but many questions remain regarding the most effective institutional arrangements. Some have suggested the creation of a secretariat or a subsidiary approach in which HLPF under the auspices of ECOSOC be in charge of the review process, taking into consideration how other UN agencies and regional commissions will be able to feed in. Many pointed out the complexity inherent in monitoring such a wide, interrelated and global developmental agenda, especially given the need for accountability in the process. The following principles will be crucial to ensure the most effective monitoring system possible: participation, accountability and learning from other experiences. Civil society participation will also be necessary. Some expressed the relevance of monitoring at national, regional and global level as a key factor to achieve global development. 3|Pag e