Capacity-Building Courses for Integrating Sustainable Development into Policy Planning and Implementation

The review analyzed over 1,500 courses from 24 international organizations between 2013 and 2014. It found a significant gap in training that directly addresses sustainable development policy and planning, with less than 4% of reviewed courses focusing on this area. While many courses integrate sustainable development into specific themes like the green economy or climate change, there is a lack of training that combines broad strategic frameworks with specific planning and management tools. The report recommends designing targeted courses for policymakers and mainstreaming sustainable development into existing sectoral training to support the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Out of over 1,500 courses reviewed from 24 international organizations, fewer than 4% focused directly on sustainable development policy and planning.
• The review categorized courses into two types: Category 1, which focuses on sustainable development planning based on broad or theme-based policy frameworks (53 courses), and Category 2, which focuses on narrower themes, tools, and methodologies (137 courses).
• Development agencies provided the highest volume of training in both categories, offering 20 courses on sustainable development planning and 73 courses on themes, tools, and methodologies.
• There is a notable deficiency in courses that pair a sustainable development perspective with concrete planning and management tools, which is critical as the SDGs require a wider range of actors and more complex policy needs.
• Many existing courses on budgeting, procurement, and financial issues are relevant to sustainable development implementation but currently lack a specific sustainable development focus or perspective.
• The report recommends that capacity building must bridge the gap between a broad systemic perspective of sustainable development and the practical application of integrated planning, budgeting, and monitoring.

APA

Pintér, L., & Huppé, G. A. (2014). Capacity-Building Courses for Integrating Sustainable Development into Policy Planning and Implementation. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sdplannet_capacity_building.pdf

Chicago

Pintér, László, and Gabriel A. Huppé. Capacity-Building Courses for Integrating Sustainable Development into Policy Planning and Implementation. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2014. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sdplannet_capacity_building.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pintér |first1=László |last2=Huppé |first2=Gabriel A. |title=Capacity-Building Courses for Integrating Sustainable Development into Policy Planning and Implementation |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2014 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sdplannet_capacity_building.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pintr2014capacitybuilding, author = {Pintér, László and Huppé, Gabriel A.}, title = {{Capacity-Building Courses for Integrating Sustainable Development into Policy Planning and Implementation}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2014}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sdplannet_capacity_building.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }