Development policy from a systemic perspective: changes, trends and its future role within a broader framework for transnational co-operation

Over the past decade a number of changes can be observed within the development policy system. This paper presents and discusses these changes along three dimensions: narratives, strategies and operational approaches. Changes are manifold, ranging from the application of new narratives, such as the migration narrative, to alternations in strategic objectives (e.g. developing countries’ graduation issues), new instruments (in the form of development finance at the interface with the private sector), and the application of new concepts for project implementation (e.g. through frontier technologies). We discuss the implications and effects of these changes for the current and potential future role of the development policy system, as well as preliminary ideas for a concept of global co-operation for sustainable development (GCSD), spanning beyond the development policy system.