Strategizing SDG delivery in cities and communities

As the main outcome, the involved communities established digital data dashboards for the cities of Drenas (Kosovo), Baguio (Philippines), Pereira (Colombia), and Tanga (Tanzania).

This work also enabled several partners to embark on drafting a Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) and to engage in worldwide peer exchange at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2022 in New York.

These pilot measures in four cities illustrated how local communities around the globe can utilize digital reporting on the SDGs to strategize sustainable development. To accomplish this objective, the implementing organizations:

1. established round tables including stakeholders in the communities
2. engaged and strategized for sustainable communities
3. provided series of virtual training workshops in data communication
4. developed community indicator platforms in the form of locally developed, data-based websites.

In addition, and with the support of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the City of Pereira drafted a Voluntary Local Review (VLR), based on their tracking progress website, which was presented at the HLPF in July 2022.

Why community indicator systems?

To implement the globally shared framework of objectives in the 2030 Agenda, it is essential for stakeholders to collaboratively engage in localizing the SDGs, including the local definition, implementation, and monitoring of SDG-related strategies.

To achieve these goals, community indicator systems (CIS) can be used to track progress on local sustainable development in the context of the SDGs. Cities can take on local leadership for sustainable development and the use of local, disaggregated data for the purpose of tracking progress.

This in turn empowers local action towards structural change in the face of key challenges and development gaps from the grassroots up. In addition to reporting and sharing local SDG progress at multiple levels, the process of developing VLRs garners local interest and momentum for holistic decision making towards community wellbeing, resilience, and sustainable development.

What did we do?

The project partners jointly created the online data dashboards in each of the four project areas. The set-up of the community indicator platforms was established with help from IISD using IISD’s Tracking Progress tool. IISD’s team provided a number of training sessions to assist the partners on content development and data processing for the online data platform. IISD also shared practical recommendations for strategic communication plans, media relations, social media, in-person events, and the use of multimedia formats.

Local community engagement

Once local indicators were identified, measured, and visualized through the accessible online platforms, the partners considered strategic communication with respective communities and local leaders, including the development of a communication plan in close co-operation with their municipal partners.

The community data dashboards were presented to the municipal governments with the aim of obtaining political endorsement. In Baguio, for instance, the website was publicly launched after receiving approval from the official administration and the launch was led by their Public Information Office in Spring 2022. This both enhanced the transparency of the local government’s sustainability policy and gave the platform greater legitimacy and authority

The creation of community data dashboards led to multi-stakeholder partnerships between civil society organizations and governmental institutions. The partnerships opened new spaces for institutional dialogue towards advancing the 2030 Agenda and for mutual SDG action.