STRENGHTEN THE MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION AND REVITALIZE THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SDG 17 relates to promoting partnerships that support the other SDG goals, with a particular emphasis on partnerships that mobilize resources for developing countries. There is a recognition that the work of one organization affects many SDGs and that collaborations ensure this work maximizes synergies and minimizes unintentional trade-offs. The University of Waterloo has many groups building local and global partnerships, and is a leader in global networks that explicitly work to promote the SDGs.
Resources
The University of Waterloo is the founder and former host of Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Canada, the national hub of an international network of universities and colleges committed to taking action to implement the SDGs. SDSN Canada collaborates with its over 60 members to help build a research agenda for the SDGs in Canada, develop new partnerships and collaboration opportunities, and integrate the SDGs into teaching. This work includes creating the Canadian SDGs Cities Index, hosting the Together|Ensemble national SDGs conference, and spearheading 16 youth hubs for the SDGs across the country.
Waterloo International engages with the world, helping to bring prominence to Waterloo’s activities, to identify opportunities for Waterloo’s members, and to steward meaningful connections with the world. Inclusive partnerships, at global, regional, national, and local levels, serve to advance learning, discovery, and community goals. Waterloo International is a catalyst for – and facilitator of – many of Waterloo’s global links for students, staff, and faculty.
Supporting SDG Data Collection
Waterloo is engaged in numerous global collaborations related to sustainability and the SDGs. Many of these partnerships involve identifying and understanding sustainability challenges and identifying solutions. A key part of this is information sharing and data collection that help inform progress on the SDGs and their imbedded topics. At Waterloo, examples of this ongoing data collection and measurement effort include but are not limited to:
- Polar Data Catalogue - with over 500 datasets related to polar ice, water, land, and atmospheric systems, with numerous collaborators
- Global Water Futures - in collaboration with several other Canadian universities, this $144M partnership involves modelling, mapping, and data analysis of water systems in Canada and in other cold regions of the world
- Guide for Post-Secondary Reporting on the SDGs - in collaboration with Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada, the University of Waterloo developed a guide for higher-education institutions to report on the SDGs, leveraged through the international Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
Impact Alliance is the SDG Student Hub for the University of Waterloo, affiliated with the SDG Students Program (an initiative of SDSN Youth). It is a passionate student-led group that aims to educate, engage, and act on the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Youth have the power to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and the network works towards empowering them with the knowledge, skills, and pathways to action to be effective agents of change for the future.
In 2019/20 Waterloo signed on as a founding member of the University Global Coalition, an alliance of global post-secondary institutes working in partnership with the UN and other stakeholders to create a more sustainable future for all. The coalition anchors its work on the UN SDGs, and builds partnerships through executive leaders to advance collective action on achieving the goals.
