On Setting and Reaching Development Goals: The MDGs, Policy Coherence, and Partnership

Abstract

The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the latest embodiment of a long history of goal-setting in international development. Unlike past goals, however, these goals are being integrated into national and multilateral aid strategies and have engendered new expectations and commitments to development by donor nations. They have also sparked new debate on the coherence of donor country policies and measurement of their impact on development. This article critiques these new trends in international development policy and proposes a holistic approach to enhance both donor commitment and impact and fill critical gaps in the design of the MDGs.