The challenge of the SDGs in the Ibero-American Integrated Data System for South-South and Triangular Cooperation

Montevideo, July 31, 2023. 

The Integrated Data System in Ibero-America on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SIDICSS) is an innovative platform for the registration and analysis of cooperation initiatives in the region and developing countries. Through this initiative, work is carried out in strategic areas that impact the improvement of people’s quality of life and generate a positive impact on sustainable development. However, the incorporation of the SDGs into the registry and analysis tools posed a methodological and technical challenge at the time of implementation.

The South-South and Triangular Cooperation Strengthening Program aims “to strengthen South-South Cooperation within the Ibero-American framework, promoting its values and principles, so that it effectively contributes to development.” Together with SEGIB, it has worked for over a decade on the systematization and analysis of information on South-South and Triangular Cooperation, reflected in the annual South-South Cooperation report in Ibero-America and supported by an online data platform, the Integrated Data System in Ibero-America on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SIDICSS). Currently, it has more than 9,000 initiatives registered.

This system, developed by Sofis Solutions, responds to the characteristics of any information system in that it allows registering, storing, and using the data it contains. Its uniqueness, according to users, “lies in three key aspects: the conceptual and methodological link with the South-South Cooperation Report, the shared use by two actors of different nature (Ibero-American countries and SEGIB); and the incorporation of mechanisms that allow cross-checking and validating the information by the countries, in an exercise that gives great technical robustness and political legitimacy to the aggregated data in the comprehensive database.”

This system replaced the use of a questionnaire that collected inputs for the preparation of the South-South Cooperation Report produced by the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB). Today, SIDICSS allows Ibero-American countries to periodically register and update the cooperation initiatives in which they participate, so that the tool manages, analyzes, imports, and evaluates the impact and effectiveness of implemented projects, serving as input for the preparation of annual cooperation reports. 

The latest South-South and Triangular Cooperation Report in Ibero-America, 2022 edition, includes data on contributions and challenges to post-pandemic sustainable development in Ibero-America, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the measurement and evaluation of challenges to sustainable development in the region, sectoral analysis of Bilateral South-South Cooperation, partners and alliances for Triangular Cooperation, distribution of regional SSC initiatives in Ibero-America by sector of activity and scope, among others. SIDICSS thus constitutes the first and only online platform produced by a developing region, enabling the registration, storage, analysis, and reporting of data.

The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) posed a new challenge regarding their registration in different initiatives, as well as the tools needed for subsequent analysis. This required a specific methodology, an Ibero-American methodology. As stated in the latest report, “In this regard, SIDICSS offers two possibilities, that is, two possible routes. A direct one, in which countries that have advanced in identifying their SDGs can indicate them without further complications, and an indirect one, in which those who do not yet have this information available can use the methodology as a guide to identify their response.”

Sofis Solutions was responsible for incorporating this registry aligned with the new methodology, which served as input for the preparation of the 2022 report.

The technical challenges posed by a system of this nature include:

• Diversity of actors in different countries of the region, applying different methodologies for obtaining and recording information.
• Standardization of the classification of initiatives.
• Creating a unique repository of initiatives based on each country’s own records.
• Obtaining standardized information to prepare a report that compiles regional cooperation data, which serves as a reference in the region.

In its conclusions, the report states that “this tool has been the result of a conscious, collective, and horizontal effort across all of Ibero-America. Its construction process is undoubtedly its added value. There are still major challenges ahead, which emerge as progress is made. Both the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Report in Ibero-America, as well as SIDICSS and now this methodology, with its recent incorporation into SIDICSS, represent more than substantive advances.”

According to Gustavo Cirigliano, director of Sofis Solutions, “we are very proud to be part of this collective process and that it can also contribute to the development of the region. Our focus on Latin America and the work on multiple projects in different countries also help to highlight the commitment and opportunities that the region presents.”