Fellowships & Convenings/

17 Rooms

Collective action for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

In 2018, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Innovation program and Connected Leaders Platform partnered with the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution to launch the 17 Rooms Initiative. The effort aims to foster ideas, generate solutions, and advance actions across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Global Impact

After 5 years of activity, the project has engaged a network annually of more than 1,000 practitioners and resulted in dozens of “Room” conversations to advance actionable ideas on how to make progress on an aspect of the SDGs. Highlights of work emerging from the effort include:

How It Works

In the 17 Rooms flagship process, each “Room” is led virtually by 2 co-leads who serve as idea owners. These “big ideas” aim to propel practical actions or mechanisms that can make a material difference to some aspect of the 17 SDGs by 2030.

An additional 6-8 participants are selected as Room members. Using a convenings design from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Rooms meet 1-3 times to shape, debate, and deliver recommendations for how to advance the Room’s big idea. The design principles focus on conversations, not presentations, and emphasize that all Rooms should take a next step, even if it’s not the perfect step.

Rooms deliver a public memo detailing the idea and recommendations for action to advance it. Additionally, Rooms are offered the opportunity to publish a corresponding op-ed to connect with a global audience.

The platform also includes an in-person convening in New York City in September alongside the United Nations General Assembly. This gathering serves as an opportunity to rally around ideas, surface new ideas, and advance the extensive network of current, former, and future 17 Rooms members.

Taking Action Locally

Learn More

The 17 Rooms methodology has also been developed into a toolkit for use by communities seeking to implement local actions to advance the SDGs. Learn more about this effort, called 17 Rooms-X, and where it has been tested.

Featured Content

  • Project Syndicate Op-Eds
    This platform highlights some of the “big ideas” from the 17 Rooms project in the Room co-leads’ own words.
  • Room Memo
    In this document, Room 1 — the 17 Rooms working group taking on SDG 1 (No Poverty) — outlines its guiding principles for government-led digital cash programs.
  • Rebooting the Sustainable Development Goals
    17 Rooms co-chairs John W. McArthur of the Brookings Institution and The Rockefeller Foundation's Zia Khan share lessons about how ideas can drive positive change.

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