Multiplex Learning: An Evidence-Based Approach to Design Policy Learning Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa for the SDGs

Abstract

Although most scholars acknowledged that development is a transnational process, existing discussions usually focus on negative externalities such as pollution, epidemics, violent conflicts and economic crises. This chapter considers a form of positive externality, knowledge spillovers and argues that countries can innovate in policymaking, both design and implementation, and achieve more sustainable forms of development by participating in a multiplex policy learning network. Furthermore, we emphasise that policy knowledge transfer should not be one-way, so global governance becomes a truly inclusive and interactive process. One fundamental problem to this end is the design of such multiplex policy learning networks. This chapter adopts an evidence-based approach to this problem. Using quantitative analysis, we identify performance-based clusters of status leaders, intermediates and followers in Sub-Saharan Africa with respect to the constituents of indicator-based performances on each Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), and offer a detailed contextualisation for multiplex policy learning in Sub-Saharan Africa with a prospective design of an international conference agenda for SDGs.