ABSTRACT
Multilevel governance relates to the vertical and horizontal integration of governance systems to enable efficient policymaking, service delivery and cohesive leadership by and among all spheres of governance. Top-down multilevel governance from global to local means that effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) must come through collaborative and coherent strategies across different layers of governance. There are, however, different understandings of the term ‘multilevel governance’, and this entry builds upon the framing of United Nations Habitat, whereby the success of the SDGs ultimately depends on local action and contextual adaptation. However, major challenges such as policy fragmentation, varying capacities and resource disparities among different governance levels remain and create bottlenecks to go in that direction.
