UN HLPF Side Event: Trust as Infrastructure for SDG 11: Strengthening Sustainable Development Through Credibility, Behavior Change, and System Design

Hosted by the American Psychological Association (APA), which holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), in collaboration with the Brazilian Society of Psychology, this side event explores how trust functions as essential infrastructure for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Featuring speakers from both the American Psychological Association and the Brazilian Society of Psychology, the session will examine how trust influences public engagement, policy implementation, climate action, and community resilience. Drawing on research and practical examples from local government and international initiatives, presenters will discuss evidence-based strategies for strengthening trust between institutions and the communities they serve.

Participants will gain practical insights into how behavioral science can support more effective, inclusive, and resilient approaches to sustainable urban development.

Event Description:

Across global contexts, trust in institutions has been widely recognized as declining, posing a growing challenge for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including but not limited to SDG 11. Whereas significant focus has been devoted to financing, technology, and partnerships, less attention has been given to the social conditions that determine whether these efforts succeed in practice.

Cities provide a critical lens through which to understand this dynamic. As the primary sites of implementation for many SDGs - including SDG 11’s goal to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable - these environments demonstrate a consistent pattern: the presence of policy, traditional infrastructure, or investment does not guarantee impact. Outcomes, instead, depend on how individuals and institutions interact with the systems created - whether they engage with them, trust them, and sustain participation over time.

Research across social science and applied lessons from governance shows that trust functions as a form of “soft infrastructure.” It shapes whether people believe their participation matters, whether systems are perceived as fair, and whether stakeholders are willing to collaborate across sectors. Procedural justice further demonstrates that how decisions are made - particularly whether processes are transparent, consistent, and accessible - plays a critical role in building or eroding trust.

At the same time, trust is not only linked to policy uptake, but also to broader well-being and social stability, reinforcing its importance as a cross-cutting condition for sustainable development. Examples from participatory governance in both the United States and Brazil illustrate that while trust can be built in different ways, it must be intentionally designed into systems.

This side event will examine trust not as a secondary outcome, but as a foundational condition for SDG delivery - exploring how it can be operationalized across contexts to ensure that policies and investments translate into real-world impact.

Objectives:

Examine the core components regarding how trust is built, eroded, and repaired within the context of institutions, ranging from local government to global organizations; and how trust functions as a foundational condition for sustainable development across sectors, building from an initial focus on SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Explore how procedural justice, system design, and communication influence stakeholder engagement, collaboration, policy and program adoption, and long-term participation.
Building from case studies, identify practical strategies for intentionally designing, measuring, and sustaining trust within complex systems, particularly during times of uncertainty, rapid change, or other challenges.
 

Datum

Dienstag, 14.07.2026 -
Freitag, 05.06.2026

Uhrzeit

Beginn: 19:00
Ende: 20:00

Kontakt

Papa K. Andoh
GPA-ANNOUNCEMENTS@LISTS.APA.ORG

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