The MAF provides national stakeholders with a systematic approach to identify and analyse bottlenecks that are causing MDGs to veer off-track or to advance too slowly. It then aims to generate shared diagnostics and to recommend comprehensive, collaborative and focused actions, based on prioritized ‘acceleration’ solutions.

The MAF does not replace existing, nationally owned planning processes and frameworks; rather, it draws upon them and seeks to complement them by helping identify actions and actors who could work together to speed up progress toward the identified MDGs. In case a similar approach has already informed selected sectoral plans in particular countries, the principal added value of the MAF will be to facilitate extension to other MDG-relevant sectors and to focus attention on collaborative solutions with identified roles for development stakeholders. In all cases, the MAF is intended to be a relatively easy and straightforward way to build upon country knowledge and experiences and to support the increased focus that will be needed to accelerate progress in the years remaining to 2015.