Globally, around 3.8 billion people lack access to social protection, while 408 million people who want to work cannot find jobs. More than half of all workers are in low-income or insecure jobs.
At the same time, countries are navigating climate change, digitalization, demographic shifts and structural transformation. If managed well, these transitions can drive job-rich growth, resilience, and more inclusive and sustainable economies.
The Global Accelerator’s pathfinder countries commit to prioritizing decent job creation and the extension of social protection as part of these transitions. This creates a virtuous cycle of sustainable development that generates economic and social returns: Investments in decent jobs and social protection increase productivity, worker well-being and economic growth, expand social security contributions and tax revenues, thereby creating fiscal space for further investments.
The Global Accelerator operates through three complementary and mutually reinforcing pillars, based on international labour standards:
Together, with strong national social protection and employment programmes and systems, continuous innovation, monitoring and learning, these form the basis of the Global Accelerator’s theory of change, and the initiative delivers results measured across three categories:
- Policy and institutional changes
- Improved financing
- Impact on people and enterprises
Learn more about the Global Accelerator’s theory of change and how the initiative works.
The Technical Support Facility (TSF) supports the implementation of the Global Accelerator by helping pathfinder countries translate their commitments into action.
It mobilizes national and international expertise from the UN system and development and financial partners, strengthening coordination, collaboration and collective action to advance integrated employment and social protection policies. The TSF is led by the ILO and includes FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women and WFP.
Key Functions
- Overall planning, coordination and oversight of Global Accelerator activities
- Engagement with current and prospective pathfinder countries
- Managing the Hub of Expertise, which provides on-demand expertise, knowledge and capacity-building support to countries
- Partnership development and resource mobilization
- Advocacy, communications and visibility
The Steering Group provides strategic direction to the Global Accelerator at the global level. It brings together pathfinder country governments, UN entities, social partners, public development banks, donors, and civil society.
The group monitors progress, develops and shares knowledge products, disseminates evidence and results, and supports advocacy and resource mobilization efforts.
Countries join the initiative through a high-level commitment by the heads of state or coalition of ministries, to invest in decent jobs and social protection, to become pathfinder countries. Beyond pathfinder countries, the Global Accelerator engages with countries on certain thematic areas, like climate change, fragility and informality, through the “M-GA” partnership with the World Bank. Two different mechanisms lead to the same outcome – to coordinate government and partner action on jobs and social protection.
The Multistakeholder Engagement to Implement the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions and the World Bank Social Protection and Jobs Compass (M-GA) is a partnership between the United Nations and the World Bank to accelerate progress to achieve universal social protection and create decent and productive employment.
By fostering closer collaboration between the UN and the World Bank, the M-GA offers country partners a single point of entry for receiving coordinated technical assistance, and strengthening the operational support delivered by the World Bank and the UN.
The Global Accelerator brings together Member States, UN agencies, public development banks, social partners, civil society, and the private sector to collectively support integrated and coherent employment and social protection policies aimed at reducing inequalities, promoting a job-rich and green recovery and facilitating the inclusive structural transformations needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
It advocates for joint programmes supported by the Joint SDG Fund and M-GA to provide technical assistance and catalytic funding, where appropriate, and the governments of Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Korea, and Spain have been supporting the Global Accelerator.