Towards a results-based management approach for capacity-building in space science, technology and applications to support the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development ☆ Werner R. Balogh * , Luc St-Pierre, Simonetta Di Pippo United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations Office at Vienna, Vienna, Austria ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Capacity-building Results-based management Sustainable development Space capacity index ABSTRACT The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has the mandate to assist Member States with building capacity in using space science, technology and their applications in support of sustainable economic, social and environmental development. From 20 to 21 June 2018 the international community will gather in Vienna for UNISPACE þ 50, a special segment of the 61st session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first UNISPACE conference and to reach consensus on a global space agenda for the next two decades. “Capacity-building for the twenty-first century” is one of the seven thematic priorities of UNISPACE þ 50, identified and agreed upon by COPUOS. The Committee has tasked UNOOSA with undertaking the work under this thematic priority and with reporting regularly to the Committee and its Subcommittees on the progress of its work. It is therefore appropriate, in this context, to take stock of the achievements of the capacity-building activities of the Office, to review the relevant mandates and activities and to consider the necessity to strengthen and better align them with the future needs of the World and in particular with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This paper describes the efforts on-going at UNOOSA, building on its experiences with implementing the United Nations Programme on Space Applications and the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN- SPIDER) and working with Member States and other United Nations entities, to develop a results-based man- agement approach, based on an indicator framework and a database with space solutions, for promoting the use of space-based solutions to help Member States achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and successfully implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 1. Introduction On 25 September 2015, with the adoption of General Assembly Resolution 70/1, the Member States of the United Nations committed to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [1]. The Agenda is a call and plan for action for people, planet, prosperity and peace to be achieved in partnership with no one left behind. Taking into account the lessons learned in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the 2000–2015 period [2], the 2030 Agenda encompasses the three dimensions of sustainable development, namely, economic, social and environmental development. It is based on 17 universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covering a wide range of global issues, including the elimination of poverty and hunger, providing education and health services for all, maintaining our environment and ensuring decent work and living conditions on the basis of a just society and strong institutions (see Fig. 1) [3]. Through the SDG on climate action the Agenda is linked to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the outcome of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. Several of the SDGs also link the Agenda to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The SDGs are integrated and indivisible and linked to 169 concrete targets that should be ach- ieved by 2030. Success is measured through an intricate set of global indicators, quantifying our progress towards achieving these targets. This example of goal-based planning constitutes a “globally shared normative framework that fosters collaboration among countries, mobilizes all stakeholders and inspires action.” [4]. The 2030 Agenda is applicable to countries at all levels of ☆ 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Guadalajara, Mexico, 26–30 September 2016. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: werner.balogh@unoosa.org (W.R. Balogh), luc.st-pierre@unoosa.org (L. St-Pierre), simonetta.di.pippo@unoosa.org (S. Di Pippo). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Acta Astronautica journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.07.029 Received 8 December 2016; Received in revised form 10 July 2017; Accepted 18 July 2017 Available online 20 July 2017 0094-5765/© 2017 IAA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Acta Astronautica 139 (2017) 385–389