Doing Things Right Versus Doing the Right Things? Ownership's Effect on the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the focal point for coordinating global efforts toward promoting sustainable development. However, progress toward the SDGs has stalled. This article shifts attention to the behaviors of development partners as a key determinant of SDG attainment. It argues that lukewarm donor commitment to recipient‐country ownership has prevented greater SDG attainment. While ownership is a procedural goal in its own right (SDG‐17), it is also perceived as critical for achieving substantive development outcomes. The analysis synthesizes data from two monitoring frameworks—the Paris Declaration Monitoring System (PDMS) and the Global Partnership on Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC)—to examine the relationship between changes in ownership and changes in SDG attainment over the 2015–19 period. Using linear regression analysis of up to 257 donor–recipient dyads covering 23 donors and 66 recipients, the analysis shows that increases in ownership are significantly related to increases in SDG attainment. Instrumental‐variable analysis supports a causal interpretation of these results. These results corroborate findings from qualitative studies about the role of ownership for sustainable development.