New trends and innovations in social policy

Since the 1990s, the “social turn”—a combination of shifts in ideas and policies that reasserted social issues in development agendas—has brought about various changes and reforms in a wide range of social policy institutions and instruments. Innovations in social policy that bode well for transformative change include the increasing trend toward universalization (leaving no one behind); better integration of policy instruments (or policy coherence) between the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development; more inclusive forms of participation in policy design and implementation; new forms of partnership; and new directions in global and regional social policy. While currently facing strong headwinds, the social turn needs to be sustained, reinvigorated and, ultimately, broadened into an eco-social turn.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Partnerships for the Goals