Rome, Italy — May 7, 2026
The International Data Center Authority (IDCA) and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalizing a multi-year collaboration to accelerate the integration of digital technologies in support of sustainable development. The signing took place in Rome and was concluded by IDCA Chairman Mehdi Paryavi and SDSN President Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs.
The agreement brings together two globally influential organizations at a critical moment for digital infrastructure and sustainability. The SDSN — established under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General — mobilizes a network of more than 2,000 universities, research centers, and think tanks across 150 countries in direct support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IDCA operates at the intersection of standard-setting, digital economy development, and infrastructure deployment, working with governments and institutions across more than 40 countries to design and execute digital ecosystems at the national and regional scale. The IDCA Global Foundation, IDCA's 501(c)(3) non-profit arm, leads the organisation's workforce development, training, and certification programmes globally.
Under the MoU, the two organizations will collaborate on research, policy development, and operational frameworks that link digital infrastructure — including data centers, compute capacity, data ecosystems, and artificial intelligence — to the achievement of the SDGs and the post-2030 sustainable development agenda. The partnership addresses a gap that neither organization could close alone: translating scientific knowledge and policy ambition into investible, executable digital infrastructure at scale.
"The intelligence age demands that we move beyond declarations and connect the world's knowledge networks directly to the infrastructure that will carry development forward. The SDSN's scientific depth and global academic reach, combined with IDCA's standards authority and on-the-ground execution capacity, create exactly the kind of operational partnership the international system has been missing."
— Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, President, SDSN
"This MoU reflects IDCA's conviction that digital infrastructure is not a sector — it is the foundation upon which every other development priority rests. Partnering with SDSN gives us direct access to the world's foremost network of researchers and institutions working on sustainable development. Together, we will ensure that the standards, policies, and investments shaping the intelligence age are grounded in scientific rigour and oriented toward shared global prosperity."
— Mehdi Paryavi, Chairman, IDCA
"The IDCA Global Foundation exists to build the certified workforce that digital infrastructure requires — a workforce that does not yet exist at the scale the world needs. Connecting our training and certification programmes to SDSN's global academic network opens a new pipeline of talent and institutional capacity, particularly across developing economies where the workforce gap is most acute and the development dividend of getting this right is greatest."
— Dr. Simona Marinescu, CEO, IDCA Global Foundation
The MoU was signed on May 7, 2026, at the Palazzo Orsini Taverna in Rome, one of the city's most storied Renaissance palaces, built in the 16th century and long associated with Rome's great noble families.
The International Data Center Authority (IDCA) is the global bipartisan digital economy think tank that works with nations to create AI policies, Digital Hubs, and Digital Economies through the standardization of the approach, selection, design, feasibility, operation, and various processes and methodologies of digital infrastructure and related processes and systems. The global IDCA team works with its partners and affiliates worldwide to achieve the optimum delivery of its advanced services locally and effectively at every project. IDCA is represented in more than 40 countries and is active globally in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) works under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General to mobilize universities, think tanks, and research centers to advance the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. Established in 2012 by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and economist Jeffrey Sachs, the SDSN promotes evidence-based solutions, policy analysis, education, and global cooperation at the intersection of science, policy, and practice.
Source: unsdsn.org