The purpose of this research is to study how the UNDP offices in Stockholm and New York are using Facebook to set the agenda regarding the Millennium Development Goals, but also how the offices are communicating and presenting the goals towards the public. The research is based on publications from the two Facebook groups “millenniemålen – åtta mål för en bättre värld” and “United Nations Development Programme – UNDP” published between November 2011 until April 2012. The publications were categorized and analyzed using content analysis, a method that allows categorization of data which enables me to compare the two offices publications rate but also the amount of publications according to which MDG to be in focus. Text analysis of 24 publications allowed me to detect a pattern as well as analysis the two way communication occurring. The text analysis provides an understanding of the how the organizations are working with setting the agenda of the Millennium Development Goals, but also how a relationship is created through communication. The theoretical standpoint for the thesis draws on agenda-setting, strategic communication and Public Relations, also referred to as PR, as the two offices are working with awareness towards the public - a work that need a creation of relationship to the audience. This study shows that the two offices are communicating the Millennium Development Goals differently towards the public, with different results. The New York office are interacting with its followers on Facebook, directing the readers to engage in the set topics through questions and statements and creating dialogues organization to reader but also reader to reader. The UNDP Stockholm is using Facebook as a gateway to their webpage, where information is presented as a news article with little or none chance for the reader to comply. The setting of the agenda is done through the publications, but the publications lack the tools showing if the agenda have been embraced by the readers. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur UNDP kontoren i Stockholm och New York använder Facebook för att sätta agendan på millenniemålen, men även visa hur kontoren kommunicerar och presenterar målen till besökarna/följarna av sidorna. Undersökningen är baserad på publikationer gjorda på de två kontorens Facebook sidor “millenniemålen – åtta mål för en bättre värld” och “United Nations Development Programme – UNDP” under tidsperioden november 2011 till april 2012. Publikationerna blev kategoriserade och analyserade med hjälp av innehållsanalys, en metod som genom sin kategoriseringsprocess möjliggör jämförelse mellan de två kontorens sätt att sätta agendan och arbeta med publiken, men även nödvändig information som millenniemål i fokus i enskilda publikationer. Text analys applicerades på 24 publikationer för att mer djupgående förstå hur de två kontoren jobbar för att skapa dialog samt en relation till läsarna genom den satta agendan. Hur UNDP kontoren adresserar läsarna samt överbyggande teman för texterna blev synliga genom denna analys metod. Som teoretisk grund använder jag ”agenda-setting”, strategisk kommunikation samt Public Relations, också refererad till som PR. Båda kontoren har till uppgift att uppmärksamma allmänheten på UNDPs agenda, en uppgift som innebär relationsskapande till sin publik. Resultatet visar att de två kontoren skiljer sig åt när det gäller att kommunicera millenniemålen. New York kontorets interagerande med sin publik genom Facebook, där de skapar dialog kring ett satt ämne mellan organisationen och publiken, men även mellan publiken själv, visar på en fungerande strategi att skapa intresse kring målen. Interaktionen visar även att publiken engagerar sig i de publikationerna som blivit gjorda, med andra ord den agendan som blivit satt. UNDP Stockholm använder Facebook som en ”gateway” till sin hemsida, där informationen blir presenterad som en nyhetsartikel med få inbjudningar till dialog eller chans att respondera . Även om agendan är tydlig i texterna, finns det inga bevis på att läsarna är mottagliga för den.

Policy coherence is receiving increasing attention due to the interconnectedness, urgency and global character of the challenges that humanity faces today. Policy coherence provides an effective approach to tackle the complex macrochallenges of today since it entails achieving policies from different levels and sectors striving towards the same objectives in a supportive and reinforcing manner, producing an effective and long-lasting response to the challenges. Considering the broad, ambitious and universal Agenda 2030, policy coherence is of greater importance than ever before. This study investigates the policy coherence between Agenda 2030 and the national level looking into the case of Sweden with focus on the environmental dimension of sustainable development by evaluating the coherence between the environmental SDGs and Sweden’s national environmental quality objectives. Coherence between the two policy levels is evaluated using a qualitative data analysis by comparing official policy documents from respective policy agenda and applying the OECD’s (2016) Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development framework to Sweden. The conclusion indicates that the policy agendas fit together in a reasonable way but has the potential to be more coherent. Urgency is seldom addressed, but rather challenges are pointed out as critical and taking action is noted as significant. Both of the policy agendas address the interconnectedness of the challenges, the SDGs in a vague manner pointing out ‘links’ and the national environmental quality objectives in a more detailed manner pointing out more specific examples. The global character of the challenges is addressed in both of the policy agendas, more so in the SDGs than the national environmental quality targets. Incoherence is at times difficult to point out due to the vague terms used in Agenda 2030 compared to Sweden’s national policy. However, the vagueness of Agenda 2030 seems to serve a function whereas the country specific goals go into further detail according to the context. Despite the difficulty, results show that a broader perspective would benefit both policy agendas in addressing the global challenges coherently, since it consequently implies that the concept of policy coherence is applied at a larger scale.

Lack of water access is an issue of global importance. The WHO and UNICEF’s Joint Monitoring Program estimated that in 2015 71% of the world’s population used a safely managed drinking water source and 89% of the world’s population used an improved water source within a 30-minute round trip of home. Madagascar’s national statistics lags far behind these global statistics with 54% of the population using improved water sources, 31% using unimproved water sources, and 16% with no service at all. This research studied water access in Madagascar with self-supply Pitcher Pumps attached on hand-driven tubewells. The term self-supply in this context refers to privately owned and constructed water sources that are not financially subsidized by governments or non-governmental organizations. Self-supply is typically seen in the form of private wells in rural areas of developed countries like the United States or in developing countries in the form of shallow wells or rain water harvesting. Self-supply Pitcher Pumps are common along the coast in Madagascar in areas where the first aquifer is shallow and in sandy soil. They are ubiquitous at the site of this study, the port city of Tamatave. People in Madagascar have benefited from increased access to affordable water because of Pitcher Pumps for decades, however, there are health risks associated with consuming the water due to lead and microbial contamination of the water. This study sought to improve microbial water quality of Malagasy Pitcher Pumps by testing two different types of well head protection: 1) a partially buried short 100-mm diameter PVC pipe collar placed around the rising main, and 2) a 50-cm diameter, circular concrete apron. The study was a mixed design experiment that allowed for between subject comparisons of wells over the same time period and for within subject comparisons of the same well sites with different types of well head protection. Wells were selected for the study that had a high risk of localized pathways of contamination and low risks of aquifer contamination relative to other wells in the area. Membrane filtration was used for microbial water quality measurements and detected a wide spectrum of bacteria grown at 37◦ C. In this study, data from 690 water samples of 44 wells (with and without well protection added) over a 9 months period was analyzed. Weak but statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) and marginally statistically significant (0.05 < p ≤ 0.10) correlations were found between bacteria concentrations and antecedent rainfall depth for wells with aprons but not for wells with a pipe collar or no protection. No statistically significant relationship was found between bacteria concentrations in wells and type of well head protection. The lack of reduction in bacteria concentrations with well head protection is likely due to the high density of on-site sanitation near the wells and the relatively shallow water table. Generally, study results indicate that there is a wide variation of bacteria concentrations both from the same well across many months and between wells that are near each other. The second observation is consistent with other studies of wells in the area. It appears as if the best solution for improving water quality from Malagasy Pitcher Pumps to a potable level is point-of-use treatment of the water.

In September 2015, the world leaders gathered to endorse 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), demonstrating a paradigm shift for people and the planet build on shared values, principles, and priorities for a common destiny. In the process of consolidating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consultations with business representatives raised two issues related to the potential success of the goals. The first issue was to better measure and value true performance of business preconditioned by identifying the most significant impact areas. The second issue was concerned with integration of sustainability into core business strategies. Both issues lead back to the proclaimed paradigm shift built on shared values for a sustainable future as demonstrated by the SDGs and demonstrate challenges with implementation of the SDGs. Although comprehensive frameworks to help business integrate the goals have been developed, the complexity and sheer volume of the various targets and indicators hinder many companies from reporting on their performance and contributions. The textile and apparel industry, while endowed with enormous potential related to development of countries has drawn increased attention to its negative impacts along the value chain. The industry is also one of the first to integrate the SDG into their sustainability reports. However, critics point to the fact that simply linking sustainability activities to the SDGs is not enough and cherry-picking the goals that have the easiest business case will be insufficient. Thus, to address this potential discrepancy between communication and action, the aim of this study has been to investigate the perceived value of SDGs integration in sustainability reporting within the apparel industry. Through a critical discourse analysis, the study has reviewed six sustainability report by two Swedish apparel companies, Lindex and Filippa K, from 2015 to 2017. conceptual framework has been developed according to the SDG compass including two variables; communicated motives for SDG integration and methods to measure and report on goal fulfilment. The findings show that both companies are using the SDGs as a communicative tool to point to the conceptual motives which drives the sustainability work. Discursive strategies to frame the companies’ sustainability methods are made by utilizing the concept of “circularity”. The level of SDG integration differs between the companies. Lindex show discursive developments between 2015 to 2015 reflecting extended responsibility with correspondence between communication and action. While Filippa K does not show the same level of discursive maturity in terms of motive, the methods to address the sustainability issues related to circular fashion has accelerated significantly over the years comparatively to Lindex. The lack of communicated methods to address social issues is however evident. The findings further show that there is a correspondence between level of SDG integration and SDG contribution. This study corroborates with previous research arguing that the business world is more complex than something that can be assessed in a black and white dichotomy of hypocrisy versus sincerity and needs a much more sophisticated approach to the gap between promise and performance and that the SDGs have a transformative potential. It also provides insights on how the application of the SDGs can be seen through a spectrum between weak and strong sustainability depending on the maturity of a company’s sustainability management.

Ethiopia is rapidly urbanising. Similar to other urban areas in developing countries, major issues in Ethiopia include a high level of income inequality, lack of formal employment opportunities and deeply rooted poverty, tenure insecurity, poor infrastructure, and limited access to electricity and energy. Frequently settlers end up in impoverished urban squatters and slums which do not offer them even the most basic infrastructure and hence lack to provide them with the perspectives they came for. Onward migration to farer off destinations such as the EU member states thus often remains as sole option for those caught in such urban poverty traps. Although the issue of informal urban settlements is not new to the context of Ethiopian cities, the current rapid urban growth rates are exposing urban rental markets as well as infrastructure and energy supply to considerable pressure. The paper investigates the respective situation in Ethiopia and demonstrates some best practice examples. In the context of Ethiopian cities, energy production and distribution have been highly centralised under state entities and the scope for exploring local/business driven and decentralised systems has been limited. Transitions can be implemented towards sustainability and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals if collective identification and structuring of issues along with collective envisioning of future is provoked or facilitated.

Following the increase of transnational organisations, global governance today is mainly relying on voluntary standards. One standard is the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This motivates a need to understand how such an idea unfolds within organisations and what impact global CSR standards have, leading to the research question: How are CSR standards deriving from global ideas translated into organisations and influencing sustainability activities? Based on a literature review of Scandinavian institutionalism, soft rules and standards, CSR, traveling of ideas, translation, identity and image, decoupling and aspirational talk, five assumptions were formulated as to what implications the standard might have. These are examined qualitatively through multiple case studies in the Swedish food industry using semi-structured interviews and examining CSR reports. The analysis find partial support for all assumptions. Main findings include the use of the 2030 Agenda mainly as a communication tool, constituting a common sustainability language and a platform for collaborations. The standard is thus interpreted as being symbolically translated. This open up possibilities for future research regarding the translation of standards and the implications of an facilitated way of framing sustainability work, adding the concept of symbolic translation to translation theory.

Universal full coverage of birth registration by 2030 is one of the sustainable development targets which itself is of great significance for the accomplishment of many development goals such as poverty eradication, inclusion, as well as improvement of several health factors. Despite the importance of this topic, not much academic attention has been paid to study the problem of birth under-registration from the perspective of development studies. This research studies the issue of birth under-registration through a case study of Iran. The four main questions of this research are the quantitative significance of the problem, the main causes of birth under-registration, the most affected social groups, and the main problematic domain of action, in the context of Iran. By utilizing an abductive content analysis method, this research aims to understand the problem, rather than proposing policy recommendations. This desk study uses secondary sources and almost all of the sources are of qualitative nature. It is not based on any pre-defined theory and therefore does not aim to generalize nor theorize the findings. It, however, is based on available theories for developing the analytical framework. The adopted analytical framework is Bottleneck analysis which is a method designed by UNICEF specifically for the purpose of birth registration programming and policy evaluation. Birth under-registration in Iran - compared to other countries in the region - turned out to be very low. The findings provide information on many good practices regarding birth registration programming and also about several areas in need of improvement in Iran. By applying the analytical framework to the findings, identified disincentives have been categorized in three domains of supply, demand, and enabling environment, and the significance of disincentives in each domain has been assessed. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that almost all of the main causes of birth registration are of legal nature, especially patriarchal nationality laws. Also, it was found that the main risk groups were children of illegal immigrants, non-nationals, and unregistered parents, and the main problematic domain is found to be the domain of supply.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / The theme of this thesis - "INEQUALITY, POVERTY AND GOVERNANCE: AN AGENDA FOR EAST TIMOR" - stems from an interest to assess the influence of key-actors - NGOs, national governments and the United Nations System - in policy development, in developing countries that emerge from serious conflicts; in particular we search for solutions to deal with the problem of how to evaluate governance, policies and the development path in countries without reliable and structured data. This research animes to contribute to the debate on the influence of NGOs, national governments and the United Nations System on issues concerning governance, sustainable development and environment issues in developing countries that emerge from conflict featuring unconsolidated democracies; We analysed the case of East Timor, between 1999 and 2012, on issues related to social, gender and income inequality and a variety of global issues like climate change and poverty levels, based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The theoretical and methodological basis of this study was Melucci (1991). Notwithstanding this study is stakeholder-oriented based on inter- and transdisciplinary research, on multi-level and participatory governance theories and political philosophy, with focus on horizontal and environmental policy integration and processes as well as questions of legitimacy, accountability and sustainability based on the analysis of secondary sources (text, numbers, images, etc.) and collection of primary empirical data in the field, in 2012, for policy analysis in different contexts - a necessary step due to the fragility and often lack of reliable data and audited information. We analysed official documents and reports such key UN-resolutions, the Timor-Leste National Development Plan (NDP), the Millennium Development Goals Reports (MDGs), Human Development Reports (HDR), Evolution of the Human Development Index (HDI), scientific articles and several technical reports released by development agencies such as ABD, FAO, UNDP and others. We observed a huge discrepancy between rhetoric and practice concerning the key-actors participation as well as noticeable flaws in policy conduction at various levels. Transparency levels are incredibly low and it permeates all levels of the government. The impression one gets is that there was an interest in promoting the pacification process to enable foreign companies to extract oil at low risk, while issues related to governance, accountability and transparency were neglected. It is argued that such challenges were less a matter of rules and regulations then basic approaches, attitudes and power relations. It is possible that these key-actors, in general, did not succeed in find ways to change their approach during the years of stabilization; with little or no progress on issues related to human development, poverty and inequality reduction. Instead of fostering the development of a viable and autonomous civil society its results have demonstrated the depletion of a model of development that on one hand was efficient on the pacification process while on the other hand have failed in the promotion of opportunities, governance and sustainable development. Finally, we conclude that socioeconomic peculiarities and policies adopted in developing countries that emerge from serious conflicts should not be seeing as specific procedural and institutional factors replicable from stabilized societies, it is necessary to draw up a better database and a set of analysis tools based on the peculiar conditions of developing countries emerging from different forms of conflict focusing on mechanisms that promote good governance, transparency and accountability. As final considerations, to support Timor-Lesteâs sustainable development policies, we point out the need to relativize the implementation of criteria considered necessary for good governance, establish a hierarchy over time and across priorities in development programs and projects, which must be guided by the specificities of particular contexts. / O tema desta tese - "Desigualdade, pobreza e governanÃa: uma agenda para Timor-Leste" - decorre do interesse em avaliar a influÃncia de atores-chave - ONGs, governos nacionais e do Sistema das NaÃÃes Unidas - no desenvolvimento de polÃticas, em paÃses em desenvolvimento que emergem de conflitos graves; em particular, procurar soluÃÃes para lidar com o problema de como avaliar polÃticas de governanÃa, e trajetÃrias de desenvolvimento em paÃses sem base de dados confiÃveis e estruturados. Esta pesquisa buscou contribuir para o debate sobre a influÃncia das ONGs, governos nacionais e do Sistema das NaÃÃes Unidas sobre questÃes relacionadas a governanÃa, desenvolvimento sustentÃvel e questÃes ambientais em paÃses em desenvolvimento que emergem de conflitos configurando democracias nÃo-consolidadas; Analisamos o caso de Timor-Leste entre 1999 e 2012 com relaÃÃo a questÃes socioeconÃmicas, desigualdade de gÃnero de renda e uma variedade de questÃes globais como mudanÃas climÃticas e nÃveis de pobreza, com base nos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do MilÃnio (ODM). A base teÃrica e metodolÃgica deste estudo foi Melucci (1991). Entretanto, este estudo à "stakeholder-orientado", baseado em investigaÃÃo interdisciplinar e transdisciplinar, em multi-nÃvel com base em teorias de governanÃa participativa e filosofia polÃtica, com foco na integraÃÃo horizontal de processos de ordem polÃtica e ambiental, bem como questÃes de legitimidade, prestaÃÃo de contas e sustentabilidade com base na anÃlise de fontes secundÃrias (texto, nÃmeros, imagens, etc.) e de recolha de dados empÃricos primÃrias no campo em Timor-Leste, em 2012, para a anÃlise de polÃticas em diferentes contextos - um passo necessÃrio devido à fragilidade e muitas vezes a falta de dados confiÃveis e informaÃÃes auditadas. Foram analisados documentos oficiais e relatÃrios-chaves baseados em resoluÃÃes da ONU, o Plano de Timor-Leste Desenvolvimento Nacional (PDN), os RelatÃrios sobre os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do MilÃnio (ODM), RelatÃrios de Desenvolvimento Humano (HDR), EvoluÃÃo do Ãndice de Desenvolvimento Humano (IDH), artigos cientÃficos e vÃrios relatÃrios tÃcnicos divulgados por agÃncias de desenvolvimento, como a ABD, FAO, PNUD e outros. Foi observado uma enorme discrepÃncia entre a retÃrica e a prÃtica relativa à participaÃÃo atores-chave, bem como falhas visÃveis na conduÃÃo polÃtica em vÃrios nÃveis. Os nÃveis de transparÃncia sÃo reduzidos e, isso permeia todas as Ãreas do governo. A impressÃo que se tem à que houve interesse em promover o processo de pacificaÃÃo para permitir que as companhias estrangeiras pudessem extrair petrÃleo com baixo risco, enquanto que as questÃes relacionadas à governanÃa, à responsabilidade e à transparÃncia foram negligenciadas. Argumenta-se que esses desafios foram menos uma questÃo de regras e regulamentos do que abordagens bÃsicas, atitudes e relaÃÃes de poder. à possÃvel que estes atores-chave, em geral, nÃo tenham conseguido mudar suas abordagens durante os anos de estabilizaÃÃo, com rarefeito progresso em questÃes relacionadas com o desenvolvimento humano, e a reduÃÃo da pobreza e desigualdade. Ao invÃs de fomentar o desenvolvimento de uma sociedade civil viÃvel e autÃnoma, os resultados tÃm demonstrado o esgotamento de um modelo de desenvolvimento que, se por um lado eficiente na pacificaÃÃo falhou na promoÃÃo de oportunidades, governanÃa e desenvolvimento sustentÃvel. Por fim, concluÃmos que peculiaridades socioeconÃmicas e polÃticas adotadas em paÃses em desenvolvimento, que emergem de conflitos graves, nÃo devem ser vistas como fatores processuais e institucionais replicÃveis de sociedades estabilizadas, à necessÃrio elaborar uma melhor base de dados e um conjunto de ferramentas de anÃlise com base nas condiÃÃes peculiares dos paÃses em desenvolvimento que emergem de diferentes formas de conflito com foco em mecanismos que promovam a boa governanÃa, transparÃncia e prestaÃÃo de contas. Como consideraÃÃes finais, para apoiar polÃticas de desenvolvimento sustentÃvel em Timor-Leste e em paÃses similares, destacamos a necessidade de relativizar a implementaÃÃo de critÃrios considerados necessÃrios para a boa governanÃa, estabelecer uma hierarquia ao longo do tempo, em funÃÃo das prioridades, em programas e projetos de desenvolvimento, que devem ser guiados pelas especificidades de contextos particulares.

O enfrentamento da pobreza e a promoção do desenvolvimento humano são desafios muito persistentes e arraigados em nossa sociedade, cujas consequências afetam a vida de milhões de pessoas. Diante desse cenário, derivados das discussões da Cúpula do Milênio de 2000, realizada pela Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), foram elaborados os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio (ODM). Nesse percurso, um dos grandes esforços do Brasil para combater a pobreza e a desigualdade social, foi a implementação do Programa Bolsa Família (PBF) em 2003. Presente em todos os municípios brasileiros, o Bolsa Família é considerado o maior programa de transferência de renda com acompanhamento na área de saúde, educação e assistência social do mundo em desenvolvimento. Em, 2016, com um custo de 0,45% do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB), o programa, atendeu mais de 13,5 milhões de famílias, ou seja, mais de 46,5 milhões de brasileiros, que representaram aproximadamente 23% da população total do país. Devido sua relevância social, o objetivo desse trabalho foi mensurar a eficiência das Unidades Federativas brasileiras em converter investimentos no Programa Bolsa Família e PIB per capita, em avanços no cumprimento dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio, assim como identificar os determinantes da eficiência. Para isso, foram elaborados 6 modelos de eficiência, adequados ao contexto brasileiro, correspondentes aos propósitos dos seis primeiros Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio: 1) erradicar a extrema pobreza e fome, 2) atingir o ensino primário universal, 3) promover a igualdade entre os sexos e a autonomia das mulheres, 4) reduzir a mortalidade infantil, 5) melhorar a saúde materna, 6) combater HIV/AIDS, malária e outras doenças. Além disso, elaborou-se um modelo geral de eficiência para a avaliação do desenvolvimento humano. Aplicou-se a Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA) &#8211; modelo Slack-Based Measure (SBM) com retornos variáveis de escala, orientado ao output, para o período de 2004-2009 a 2011-2014. As variáveis inputs utilizadas para todos os modelos foram as Transferências de Recursos do Governo Federal destinados ao Programa Bolsa Família e o PIB per capita. De forma geral, os resultados demonstraram que o Brasil avançou no cumprimento dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio. Os escores de eficiência foram elevados, evidenciando o desempenho satisfatório e a contribuição do Bolsa Família para a promoção do desenvolvimento humano no país. Por outro lado, identifica-se a necessidade de ampliação de investimentos destinados ao PBF, uma vez que se os níveis de eficiência estão elevados, existe pouca margem para expandir sua performance, sem alterar os inputs. Além disso, para promover o desenvolvimento humano é importante a combinação de políticas públicas a médio e longo prazo, além de ampliação de gastos sociais para construção de uma estrutura sólida que promova o desenvolvimento humano e melhora da qualidade de vida dos brasileiros. / Confronting poverty and promoting human development are very persistent and deeply rooted challenges in our society, what consequences affect the lives of millions of people. In the face of this scenario, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been elaborated in the discussions of the 2000 Millennium Summit, held by the United Nations. Along these lines, one of Brazil\'s great efforts to combat poverty and social inequality was the implementation of the Bolsa Família Program (PBF) in 2003. Present in all Brazilian municipalities, Bolsa Família is considered the largest income transfer program with accompaniment in the area of health, education and social assistance of the developing world. In 2016, at a cost of 0.45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the program served more than 13.5 million families, or more than 46.5 million Brazilians, who accounted for approximately 23% of the country\'s total population. Due to its social relevance, the objective of this study was to measure the efficiency of the Brazilian Federative Units in converting investments in the Bolsa Família Program and GDP per capita, in advancing the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, as well as identifying the determinants of efficiency. To this purpose, 6 efficiency models were developed, adapted to the Brazilian context, corresponding to the first six Millennium Development Goals: 1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, 2) achieve universal primary education, 3) promote equality between gender, and women\'s empowerment, (4) reducing child mortality, (5) improving maternal health, (6) combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. In addition, a general efficiency model for the assessment of human development was developed. We applied the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) - Slack-Based Measure (SBM) model with variable returns of scale, oriented to the output, for the period from 2004-2009 to 2011-2014. The input variables used for all models were the Federal Government Resource Transfers destined to the Bolsa Família Program and the GDP per capita. Overall, the results demonstrated that Brazil has made progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The efficiency scores were high, evidencing the satisfactory performance and the contribution of the Bolsa Família to the promotion of human development in the country. On the other hand, it is identified the need to increase investments destined to the PBF, since if the levels of efficiency are high, there is little scope to expand its performance, without changing the inputs. In addition, to promote human development, it is important to combine public policies in the medium and long term, as well as to increase social spending to build a solid structure that promotes human development and improves the quality of life of Brazilians.

Some retail companies have been facing boycotts and negative criticism due to their association with sweatshop practices and human rights scandals. In order to deal with such criticism, it has become common for these garment sector businesses to implement corporate responsibility projects in countries in which their independent suppliers are located. These projects fall within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, more specifically on how the private sector can contribute to the achievement of the 8th goal, which is related to decent work and economic growth. In this sense, this work analyzes how the understanding of problems related to work processes influence the design and outcome of an initiative partially implemented by the private sector. A project implemented in Cambodia by H&amp;M, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) was used as case study.