“The record of the [Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)] is generally a good one. … [But o]ne of its weakest points was, however, MDG 8, on the global partnership for development,” José Antonio Ocampo, a professor at Columbia University and former finance minister of Colombia, writes in The Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog.” He continues, “Although the engagement of civil society, the private sector, foundations and academia in the achievement of the global development goals should be most welcome, it can never be a substitute for the central role that intergovernmental cooperation has to play.” Therefore, “[t]he global partnership should … mobilize a set of dynamic, multi-stakeholder partnerships, but must have intergovernmental cooperation at the center,” Ocampo writes. “The post-2015 development agenda should define what the critical elements of such global partnerships are,” he states, adding, “An essential ingredient should be high-profile monitoring of commitments” (9/24).