Abstract
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs—2000–2015) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs—2015–2030) have been guiding our work as clinical sociologists for two decades. These guideposts are intended to reduce poverty and more equitably distribute resources in developing countries. In addition to infrastructure and energy projects, education, and health, the new SDGs stress climate change, clean air and water, and closing gender gaps in economic opportunities. Increasingly, the bilateral, multilateral, and international development agencies, national planning departments, and civil society organizations are turning to the voices of stakeholders to help assess needs and determine impacts in development. Focus groups and key informant interviews have become a regular part of international development monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Qualitative research methods are gaining respect for their powerful analytical powers in exploring systems—how things work and what needs to be done to improve outcomes.
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Notes
- 1.
Progress on Goal 8 is available in United Nations, 2015. Taking Stock of the Global Partnership for Development: MDG Gap Task Force Report, 2015. https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_Gap_2015_E_web.pdf.
- 2.
United Nations, 2015. MDG Gap Task Force Report 2015: Taking Stock of the Global Partnership for Development. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/taking-stock-of-the-global-partnership-for-development
- 3.
United Nations (2015). Taking Stock of the Global Partnership for Development: MDG Gap Task Force Report, 2015. https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/ MDG_Gap _2015_E_web.pdf; and United Nations (2019), Report of the Secretary-General, Special Edition: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals . https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/24978_Report_of_the_SG_on_SDG_Progress_2019.pdf.
- 4.
J. M. Billson, “Sociology and the Sustainable Development Goals: Or, Do We Really Have a Role in Changing the World?” Journal of Applied Social Science (September 2020).
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Billson, J.M. (2021). Focus Groups in the Context of International Development: In Pursuit of the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals. In: Fritz, J.M. (eds) International Clinical Sociology. Clinical Sociology: Research and Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54584-0_16
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