Mobilizing ‘communities of practice’ for local development and accleration of the Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out to achieve the ambitious goal of addressing all forms of poverty, fighting inequality, tackling climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. Five years into the implementation of the SDGs, though progress has been recorded in some places, significant challenges persist globally. In 2019, the UN Secretary-General declared a “Decade of Action” commencing in 2020 until 2030. In the light of this campaign, it is important that all effort is garnered to accelerate action towards achieving the goals. The local government level is increasingly being recognized as the key locus of development effort, particularly because the SDGs are relevant to local jurisdictions and change can be tangibly measured at smaller scales. This paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on how best to localize the global goals. Reflecting on the Ghanaian context, the paper discusses guiding principles for effective communities of practice at the local government level. Overall, the paper underlines the advantages of coordination among stakeholders, which constitute essential ingredients for accelerating action towards the SDGs especially as we commence the “Decade of Action.”