Urban Race for SDGs Research Findings October 2020
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Introduction This paper summarises the primary core findings of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) research conducted from July to September 2020 in partnership with UrbanDNA and Imperial College Business School. However, further research work is still ongoing. The research sought to understand how cities were addressing SDGs locally and what learning had emerged from work to date. And from that, what basic response plans could logically be deployed in any city context worldwide to accelerate and secure the achievement of the SDG goals by 2030. This report is addressed for those involved in city sustainability that wish to join forces in responding to this vital global agenda. Mayors, city managers, senior city officers and city technicians are all part of this city tribe that will make change happen with the relevant insights, tools and knowledge to take the necessary actions. We warmly thank representatives from across all continents who offered their time, opinions, and support as part of this research. Rest of the World Bristol, UK Lagos, Nigeria London, UK
Atlanta, US Los Angeles, US
Mannheim, Germany Europe
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Milan, Italy
Buenos Aires, Argentina Vienna, Austria Australia Barcelona, Spain Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Figure 1: Participating Cities across all continents
About the authors Louis Ryall Imperial College Researcher
Julia Janka Imperial College Researcher
Francesco Papa UrbanDNA Urban Consultant
Ilona Loustric Imperial College Researcher
Matthew Paver Imperial College Researcher
Graham Colclough UrbanDNA Urban Acupuncturist
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Table of Contents
5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6
Demonstrating Leadership Vision ............................................... 11 Designing Appropriate SDG Portfolios .............................. 12 Engaging Stakeholders and Partners ................................... 12 Acting on the ground ................................................................................. 12 Evidencing SDGs Value.......................................................................... 12 Communicating Success........................................................................... 12
6.1 Recommendations for cities and their ecosystem .... 17 6.2 Potential End Products for cities................................................... 17 6.3 Ongoing Research Opportunities............................................... 17
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Cities caring about SDGs Cities are increasingly becoming the primary vehicles of change worldwide. The global population are predominantly urbanites. Most economic trade emerges from cities. And cities sit fair and square in the heart of global emissions and energy consumption. Such stature places cities at the source of the need for change, and the very mechanism that must lead it. Facts Box: Cities are responsible for:
>½ the world’s population2 60% global GDP growth3
70% of global emissions4
SDGs are the vital basis to make a step-change to a sustainable future for all. In 2015, the United Nations launched the SDGs (figure 2) as successors to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The SDGs – unlike the MDGs which focused on raising up developing countries – set targets for both developing and developed societies. The world agreed to a new ambitious agenda to end poverty, reduce inequality, and provide access to safe nourishment everywhere by 2030. 17 goals, and 169 targets shape society's path toward sustainability. Figure 2: UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Only one SDG, #11, explicitly addresses cities; however, all are highly relevant in urban contexts. OECD data5 shows that 65% of the 169 SDG targets can only be accomplished if cities and regions get involved. Many cities think more. This is a result of the breadth of local administration's influence on infrastructures and services that affect all aspects of our daily lives (housing, water, sanitation, health, leisure, public realm, etc.). The SDGs are important to cities as they offer a common framework and language for the exchange of ideas. Tackling the U.N.'s 2030 Agenda through the SDGs is an essential first step in securing sustainable prosperity for our planet towards 2100 – a time horizon that we neglect at our peril. However, actions in cities reveal specific attention to some of the SDGs. Figure 3 shows the SDGs Focus in Urban Placescities. current SDGs focus in aggregate amongst the participating SDGs Common Priorities
SDGs Situational & Context Focus
SDGs Lower Common Priorities
Figure 3: SDGs focus of participating cities
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Yet most cities, by their admission, are not succeeding at implementing the SDGs, despite their enthusiasm and support. Cities need tools, cases, and confidence to realise the tangible benefits of acting on the SDGs and help in accessing the finance and funding to deliver on their SDG programmes.
"Our struggle for global stainability will be won or lost in cities" 1. Former U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-Moon Despite the COVID crisis is stealing cities attention, the SDGs remain a priority, as long-term global challenges will not fade away. While cities have shifted focus due to COVID-19, the recognition of the holistic nature of the SDGs has resulted in many cities still powering ahead with their SDG initiatives and programmes. Confronting a once-in-a-century (at least for now) public health crisis requires the orchestration of resources, institutions, and citizenry not seen since the Second World War. And cities are rising to the challenge. What they lack is the ability to ensure they do not do so individually, from first principles. Given the severity of the crisis, one might expect to hear cities abandon the SDGs wholesale to reign in COVID-19. Interestingly, instead of abandonment, the current pandemic has merely hastened and magnified trends that were already apparent before. Cities have simply reported a shift in priorities. Before the epidemic, cities were focused on regionally specific, logically based concerns. Now, most cities are emphasising health & wellbeing (SDG 3), and decent work & economic growth (SDG 8); although recognising that the SDG framework is holistic, so work on many of the 17 goals is ongoing. Additionally, most major economies are taking steps to align stimulus programmes with sustainability, often heralded as a 'fair green recovery' 6. In the short term, cities are grappling with the prospect of reduced tax revenue from the loss of business activity. National governments are expected to play some part in bridging this gap; however, cities recognise that they will have to become more creative to maintain or expand current revenues. COVID-19 presents a common challenge for cities; opportunities do exist to emerge stronger and more resilient; however, careful forethought on crafting that future is required now.
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SDGs State of the Art Since their adoption in September 2015 at the United Nations Summit, SDGs have kept growing in popularity more significantly in the last two years. Figure 3 shows the frequency of a worldwide keyword search of 'SDGs'. The upward trend is evident, and the dip and rebound following the Covid pandemic outbreak. The rebound is a good signal for cities and can strengthen confidence to invest time and resource on this agenda. This is a rough indication with limitations in terms of languages and search engine providers; however, this trend is also mirrored in the growing literature written on this topic. Word Search “SDGs”, relative to highest peak Launch of SDGs Jan 2015
Jan 2016
Covid outbreak Jan 2017
Jan 2018
Jan 2019
Jan 2020
Figure 4: Key Word Search on SDGs since inception in 2015 - including COVID ‘blip'
A literature review has been undertaken for more than 50 documents relating to SDGs. They address topics such as implementation; case studies; monitoring; policy; and data. The table below captures some of the more relevant and informative publications. Literatures Roadmap Localising SDGs Final Opportunities for the New Urban Agenda
Date 2015
Focus Implementation
Primary Conclusion • Tool for local government to use to educate, implement, and monitor the SDGs
2015
Policy
SDGs Science to Implementation book
2017
Implementation
The SDGs and Cities International Human Mobility
2018
Policy
Applying the SDGs to cities Business as usual or a new dawn
2018
Monitoring
EU SGD Indicator Set State of the Voluntary Local Review (VLR)
2020
Monitoring
2020
Policy / Strategy & Monitoring
GEO SDGs Toolkit Concept Paper
2020
Spatial Data
• Very cross-cutting, and high level. Also talks about how to finance new urban agenda, which seems rare in most guidance elsewhere • Blends the U.N.'s new urban agenda (which includes development priorities notably for discriminated cities) with the urban portions of the SDGs • Explores the interlinkages between the SDGs • Intended to foster more science-policy dialogue • Long document 239 pages • Applies the contextual lens of population mobility and displacement to the localisation of the SDGs. Argues that given threats to democratic institutions and other forms of civil disenfranchisement, local implementation of SDGs will be challenged by human movement in response to such scenarios. • Offers ways to address the situation and practical action scenarios • An academic journal article that reviews metrics used to assess urban sustainability pre and post-SDGs • Argues that post-SDG announcement indicators have gotten better by incorporating metrics around gender equality and economic/social inequities • Presents findings that while progress has been made, challenges persist for cities. For instance, a large number of metrics, their generic context and the need to compliment them with city-specific measures hinders reporting • Yearly updated document • Long List of indicators • Summary of all VLR reports submitted to the U.N. as of February 2020 • In many cases, the VLR process focused on aligning current policies with the SDGs and their targets and on monitoring progress. Still, it did not explicitly include a stakeholder engagement process. • Cities have started this effort even though there is no current official United Nations' process giving local governments similar opportunities to national governments. • The report presents a five-tier approach to VLRs intended to strengthen the transformative potential of the next generation of cities planning to localise the SDGs. • Concept paper that argues for the use of earth observations (satellite imagery) in tracking progress for the SDGs
Analysing these 50 sources resulted in several insights: (1) Lack of attention to the business case for SDGs projects; (2) Little practical guidance to address this agenda; (3) Complex SDGs monitoring of an exhaustive list of indicators; (4) Absence of urban case studies with broad geographical coverage. These gaps further informed the research.
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Market Insights in localising SDGs The research has highlighted seven core findings in our journey to achieve sustainability in cities.
1. Today there is no secret that cities worldwide are falling behind on delivering the 2030 agenda. After five years the SDGs are still not sufficiently on the agenda of cities, in a 'business as usual' sense, and 2030 is just around the corner. Connecting national and local agendas is central to achievement.
2. SDGs remain the most common international language for sustainability. The United Nations SDGs framework is one of the most accepted and adopted sustainability frameworks in the world for all stakeholder types. This validates that the high-level structure is relevant and right; however, clearly more is needed to stimulate the local actions that will deliver the required step-change.
3. Tackling all SDGs at once can be overwhelming and might hold back cities to act. Cities recognise that their attention needs to extend beyond SDG11 (cities), however, the extent of the sustainability goals can block action. Cities should look to start the journey component by component.
4. Being accountable for SDGs does not necessarily mean extra work; more an adjustment of focus. Sustainable development goals can be easily aligned with current city priorities and strategies to structure thinking for cities and facilitate exchanges at regional and national levels.
5. Good SDG examples do exist, however often fail to be tagged to the SDGs banner. Many bench-learning experiences are available for cities on SDGs, however they are insufficiently and inconsistently captured, variably communicated, and often recognised under a different agenda. Cities leaders have also mentioned the need to capture failures examples.
6. Roles and responsibilities amongst different communities must be better understood and managed to stimulate actions. This firstly requires clarity within city hall (as a 'convenor') as to what these roles might be, to shape, co-develop, agree, and communicate them amongst stakeholders to ensure efficient and practical actions.
7. Finally, the voice of youths and females needs to be heard to drive the SDG agenda. To be entirely credible, cities, more than ever, need to be seen to be listening, and These core findings are discussed further in details below across the SDGs city performance and a framework for actions.
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SDGs Urban Maturity Currently, there is no commonly accepted practical tool that offers a swift appreciation of the state of play of a city with regards to the SDGs. Given the need for all cities to take rapid steps to address sustainability, and particularly given the speed at which many developing world cities are growing, such an instrument could offer a practical means to make a comparison, considering the different contexts of cities, stimulate dialogue, foster learning and more importantly drive local actions. To this end, the research team has developed a pragmatic maturity model that can help cities assess themselves. The maturity model considers the development of a city against five criteria: a) b) c) d) e)
Practical approach to SDGs implementation Long-term strategic SDGs vision SDGs governance Stakeholder Engagement for SDGs Monitoring, reporting and evaluation of SDGs
It provides cities with quick and straightforward means to arrive at a coarse assessment of their state of development from a score 1 to 5 (worst to best): 1 "Starter", 2 "Explorer", 3 "Progressive", 4 "Mature", 5 "Leader". This can help cities identify strength and weakness, and bench-learn with cities that may have similar contexts and perform better in specific areas. (Further detail on the model and scoring criteria is available on request). Figure 4 shows an example of the maturity model performance for two of the participating cities. The simplicity and the speed of doing such an assessment could help cities readjust quickly to focus and progress towards achieving the SDGs.
4
2
City A average score
City B average score
Explorer
Mature
City A considered nearly all SDGs and linked them to projects prior to implementation
Practical Approach to SDG Implementation 5
City B does not consider SDGs from the outset and does not link SDGs to projects post-implementation
4 Monitoring, Reporting & Evaluation
3 2
Long-term Strategic SDG Vision
1
City A had a defined implementation plan with clear goals and targets. Stakeholder engagement
City B’s plan does not explicitly link to the SDGs
SDG governance
City B leadership pushes for some sustainable development projects but does not advocate for SDGs specifically.
City A engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to collaborate on projects and leveraged internal connections
Figure 5: SDG Maturity Model Examples
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Figure 5 presents the indicative score of all participating cities across most continents. These scores are non-definitive as performance are based on single opinion; however it seems that Europe is generally more advanced than other continents in the SDGs agenda.
World Cities SDGs Performance
5
Leader 3
4
Mature
3
Progressive
2
Explorer
1
Starter
4 3
3
4 3 3 5
2
3 2 3
European Cities SDGs Performance 5
Leader
4
Mature
3
Progressive
2
Explorer
1
Starter
4 3
4
3
3 5 Figure 6: Indicative Assessment of Participating Cities
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A Framework for Action A framework for action has emerged from the collective opinions of participating cities, as shown in figure 6. It describes six steps for actions at a local level, which we then elaborate. 1. Demonstrating Leadership Vision
6. Communicating Success • Bench learning is often cited as the most effective form of cross city collaboration. Encourage cities of all sizes and development states to share experiences both good and bad to all relevant stakeholders, including citizens
• City leaders who make firm commitments and demonstrate seriousness help bring their colleagues along the path of achieving the SDGs
2. Designing Appropriate SDG portfolios
5. Evidencing SDG Value • Considerable effort is made to rightfit SDG indicators for each city; cities should focus on quick-wins and easily comparable metrics for data, as well as conducting qualitative lived experiences surveys
• Translating awareness into action takes concerted effort and dedicated resources to localize frameworks and initiatives
3. Engaging Stakeholders & Partners 4. Acting on the ground
• Ensuring that city departments are aligned and that community input has been sufficiently gathered is seen as critical for success
• Dedicating resources that sit across teams to encourage collaboration is essential to avoid siloed efforts
Figure 7: Framework for Action
5.1 Demonstrating Leadership Vision Leadership vision is crucial to align city goals with the SDGs from the outset. There are two essential components: i. Clear Local Vision and Governance Given that SDGs are national commitments, localising them requires strong leadership. Cities where there is visible leadership commitment and clear SDG accountability have, thus far, demonstrated greater progress7. Notably, city governance structures can be barriers to SDG progress, particularly if actors or motives are misaligned, if administration changes are frequent and disruptive, or if the city is susceptible to corruption. As a result, SDG leadership should be assigned in a manner that is most effective for a city, and may include candidates from within current administration, an external figurehead that is more distanced from party politics, or non-political well-respected local figure(s) (artist, sports personality,...). ii. Bravery & Resolve Progressing all 17 SDGs can be overwhelming8 and may prevent some cities from acting, particularly in the developing world where resources are limited. It is therefore important to shift the mindset for action on the SDGs to one of "just-get-started". Cities, over time, should act on all SDGs, however should first look at the framework on a component-by-component basis, engage, and imagine a new future for a few, to start the journey.
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5.2 Designing Appropriate SDG Portfolios Once the initial steps have been taken, rather than taking an ad-hoc theme or service-silo approach, cities should in time develop coherent SDG programmes, and dedicate specific resource and budget to these to reap greater rewards. The process of designing the SDGs into city operations can be characterised by four levels of development (figure 7): Most Cities
Many Cities
Some Cities
Few Cities
Awareness
Education
Inception
Design
Cities are generally enthusiastic and aware of the SDGs
Cities are knowledgeable about the topic and the various applications
Agreement on which SDGs to address based on local priorities
Designing appropriate programs for the selected SDGs
of Complexity & Resource FigureLevel 8: Awareness and Adoption of SDGsCommitment in the Cities Market
Most cities are now aware of the SDGs and what they represent. However, much fewer have a full appreciation of all the different targets and indicators, frameworks for action, and best practices. Many cities have started to educate themselves on the subject of SDGs, however, given the breadth of scope, many as a result are taking time to consume what all SDGs represent. The Inception level has been attained by only some cities, as many report their struggles to get started. Far fewer cities have incorporated the SDGs structurally in day-to-day city operations. This includes explicitly linking projects to different SDGs; creating a team and budget for SDG implementation; identifying relevant partners; reviewing best practices; setting local targets and indicators to monitor progress. The design stage is crucial for efficient planning of SDG projects and to maximise impact.
5.3 Engaging Stakeholders and Partners Cities are aware of the benefits and necessity of robust stakeholder engagement however they differ in the stakeholder groups they engage with, and in the intensity of collaboration. Given the complexity of stakeholder interconnectivity in cities, the decisive engagement between all actors is essential to deliver SDG targets. This should be achieved by blending a top-down approach driven by city hall and its departments to organise meetings, conferences and round tables, with a bottom-up one, driven by society, businesses and academia. All four key stakeholder groups are needed to accelerate delivery of the 2030 Agenda. However, oft-times, too much remains on the shoulders of city hall. Figure 8 shows a few of the actions taken by cities with each stakeholder group.
City departments
Private sector
Society
Academia
One city created a commission with all responsible departments to drive communication and political change
As one city quoted: “PublicPrivate partnerships are the driving force behind the City’s goal progress.”
Few cities are conducting surveys asking society for their input on the most important SDGs
Another city created an Academia advisory board with 30 experts from the city’s top universities to help them design new policies
Figure 9: Stakeholder Perspectives
Additional notes on each stakeholder group follow:
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City Departments: Cities tend to be organised in departments focused on a specific service theme9. Whilst it does make sense to have experts for a particular area, this often leads to silos that struggle to engage with each other. Moreover, departments may have different visions, interests, and motives which can create conflict, mainly where there is need for trade-offs and compromise. These create barriers to SDG progress.
“the public sector alone cannot fix everything” City interviewee
To address such issues, cities must set a stronger emphasis on cross-departmental cooperation. This could be achieved by implementing a sustainability unit within the city office, such as in Malmö, Sweden, or Bristol, UK, where the unit is responsible for supporting all departments to ensure initiatives and programmes align with the SDG framework. In time, the goal should be for the SDGs to be embedded in the mindset and actions of all – as, for instance, safety has become in the industrial world (except far faster!). Private Sector: The private sector is a crucial stakeholder10 as it is both a source of potential capabilities and direct financial resources, as well as a hub for innovation. Moreover, engagement and regular communication with businesses are essential at every step to align political priorities and stimulate private sector contribution11.
“Public-Private partnerships are the driving force behind our goal progress.” City interviewee
Citizens: City councils are elected to represent and act in the interest of society. Yet, broad and ongoing citizen Case Snippet 1 engagement is still invaluable. Unfortunately, research reveals that they are the stakeholder group which is A German city conducted a survey among the least targeted12. their citizens asking them for the most 13 important SDGs. The city herewith was Further studies highlight that citizens should be able to get a better understanding of their integrated throughout the SDG planning phase to citizens needs and educate about the ensure that their interests and needs are better SDGs. The information was used for SDG addressed, and to have a positive impact on the programme planning. citizens' awareness and willingness to engage in later implementation phases (see Case Snippet 1). Academia: Academia can offer trusted and respected support for sustainable development by providing experts, relevant research and new technologies, and driving innovation13. Moreover, collaboration with academia introduces the potential for youth engagement, harnessing the power of fresh perspectives and consolidating the opinion of new generations in fostering long-term sustainability. Case Snippet 2 shows how a city is benefitting from cooperation with its universities.
Case Snippet 2 A Spanish city created an Academic Advisory Board with 30 experts of city’s top universities offering advice to the city council on SDG policy design.
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5.4 Acting on The Ground Two distinct approaches emerged for implementing SDG projects. Both are suitable for getting started, however they require different levels and types of leadership and governance: 1. Individual departments and businesses implement SDGs initiatives most relevant to
them. (see Case Snippet 3) Case Snippet 3 One city told us that when their departments implement projects, they consider a variety of SDGs that are relevant within that sector. For example, when the department of transit designs and executes a project, they consider the Sustainable Cities, Reduced Inequalities and Gender Equality SDGs amongst others. 2. A dedicated SDG department or team in City Hall takes responsibility for city-wide
implementation of SDGs. Having a specialist team is the preferred model, enabling cities to go further when implementing SDG initiatives, considering them as a holistic framework and accounting for synergies and interactions. To quote one city: "[the SDGs have to be approached in a way that] makes the silos dance with each other."
5.5 Evidencing Value Many cities interviewed felt overwhelmed by the complexity of the measuring and monitoring process, which in turn inhibits or slows their progress. The SDG framework includes 169 targets and 232 indicators to monitor progress towards the 17 SDGs. Only SDG11 is specific to sustainable cities and communities, however many other goals are highly relevant in an urban context – and cities know that. To address this, there must be a lower entry hurdle that is based on pragmatism, accuracy (as opposed to precision), relevant scope, and supporting a bias for action. The SDGs were designed to be reported at a national level with most indicators relying on statistics captured at (inter-)national level, and many are less relevant at a city level. Even SDG 11 includes indicators which aggregate cities at the national level, such as SDG indicator 11.3.2: "proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically" 14. Furthermore, supporting method and data quality are variable, visualised in figure 9, which shows the indicator type and data quality per tier level (per SDGs, target, indicator). Tier 1 has
Figure 10: SDG Indicator Data Tier & Characteristics
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an internationally established method with the majority of countries reporting data; tier 2 has an established method however poorer data quality and reporting; and tier 3 requires further development of method and data. These gaps are known15, and work is needed not only to strengthen national level reporting, also to improve how these can be better linked to local level activities. Other monitoring options exist however are also too complex to ensure relevant urban bench-learning. There are other alternatives such as the "WeGIx" composite index16, which uses 43 different variables which must be adapted for each region, or the city prosperity index17, which looks at 6 sectors: productivity, infrastructure development, quality of life, equity and social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and governance. However, alternative frameworks and indices are harder to relate to the SDGs and are less widely used making benchmarking and bench-learning more difficult. Some cities choose to adapt the SDG indicators to design their bespoke framework and targets for monitoring progress, which has its challenges (see Case Snippet 4).
Case Snippet 4 One city spent several years creating their own set of SDG targets and indicators, using lessons learnt from previous “Quality of Life Indicators” and using a wide range of data sources, both quantitative and qualitative, to fill in gaps. Crucially, reformulating the indicators resulted in the city taking little action and lagging behind peers for years. A practical framework for measuring project progress and tracking impact can allow cities to adjust projects, correct for errors, more importantly, avoid wasting times and resources for endless measurements. Cities need to apply a logical model where indicators track inputs to impact, to examine the implications of SDG investments18. Importantly, regardless of whether they are quantitative or qualitative, SDG targets and indicators for these various framework types should be: • • • • •
Relevant and informative about project progress and impact to drive action Clearly defined with simple language and logic for low effort use SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time based) Aligned with strategic targets to enable long term comparison Transparent and accessible by all stakeholders
Discussions with cities revealed that many prefer looking at citizens "lived experiences". One stated: "You can measure success by walking down the street and feeling safe". By using simpler proxies, cities can serve the need for accuracy and benchmarks whilst reducing difficulties in data collection. This would help cities avoid getting caught up in "measurement madness" and Enable more time to be spent on action.
5.6 Communicating Success The common language of the SDGs19 should be used as a tool to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration across all appropriate city stakeholders20, both nationally and internationally. Indeed, the OECD21 states that: "Local and regional governments have an important role to play to facilitate the coordination and exchange of information, knowledge and experience ... and also to take stock of what, where and how cooperation works, does not work, and how it could be improved."
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Following this OECD insight, there are three pillars of action that the research team observed on communication that the most prosperous cities practice often, and with intent (figure 10):
Figure 11: Three Pillars for Successful SDG Communications
Multiple forums and channels for collaboration and communication exist that cities should capitalised on to increase their chance of success in achieving the SDG targets. The case study below shows how Los Angeles is communicating SDG success to its ecosystem to stimulate local action.
Case Study Cross SDGs actions - Los Angeles SDG Dashboard
Figure 12: Los Angeles SDG Dashboard
Los Angeles is at the forefront of achieving the SDGs. As part of the city's approach, it has set up a dedicated online & public environment to monitor local SDGs progress, addressing three core aspects: (i)
Monitoring and Reporting SDGs Dashboards: A platform (figure 11) allowing the city and its ecosystem to report local progress on SDG projects and monitor individual and collective impacts
(ii) Integrating SDGs Bench Learning: IGES Worldwide Map A bench learning map of SDG initiatives and experiences around the world to guide and inform local actions and other places (iii) Local Review Applications It is providing user-friendly access to propose and apply for SDG projects in the city, based on current opportunities and priorities. This approach creates impact as it provides one common platform for city stakeholders to get involved by submitting projects, leading local reviews, and monitoring the targets & goals across all SDGs. The idea offers a stimulus for replication by other cities. it does however require attention to the development of two dimensions in particular of the maturity model: Level of Societal Engagement, and City Digital Maturity.
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Way Forward Cities should not fear of dipping their toes in SDG waters. 2020 marks the start of this 'decade of action', so a fresh approach and increased enthusiasm are needed to ensure our collective efforts result in the necessary accelerated step-change in impact on this vital agenda.
6.1 Recommendations for cities and their ecosystems Six recommendations emerge from the research, consistent with the framework for action: 1. City Officers pragmatically undertake an SDG assessment to provide a baseline, and stimulate the leadership conversation (as and if required) 2. City Leaders provide direction and build commitment to localisation of SDGs 3. City Departments just get started on a goal-by-goal basis Case Snippet 5 to lead by example An English city is 4. City Hall 'convenes' critical local stakeholders undertaking ‘SDG sprints’ 5. Stakeholders take steps to engage inclusively and one-by-one to make biteparticularly harness the energy of youth sized progress, instead of 6. City Ecosystem builds a dedicated team with a clear focusing on all SDGs at the mandate to drive implementation and pragmatic same time. monitoring of SDG initiatives
6.2 Potential End Products for cities Four themes emerge where further focus on approaches, products, or tools could help equip cities to respond better and faster: i.
SDGs Dashboard: enabling cities to visualise their data and compare themselves with other cities in a simple way (e.g. the L.A. Dashboard). It would also facilitate the mutually beneficial sharing of ideas, successes and failures. ii. Coarse SDGs Performance Assessment: a practical and approachable method could be developed to enable quick analysis and guide the monitoring and reporting of SDGs at a local level, leading towards full U.N. indicator reporting. Crucially, such a tool should build in the flexibility to adjust to different city levels of maturity and experience. iii. 'Exponential Technologies': making use of the latest game-changing technologies such as satellite images22, big data and A.I. offers a clear step change in cost and in what can be accomplished. iv. Project SDG Tracker: Develop a simple template to profile a project and assess/quantify the planned impact in support of SDGs. Use in a consistent and common basis this would support swift and meaningful progress reporting.
6.3 Ongoing Activities This journey is still nascent. A few additional known points of action include: • • •
SDG Podcast Series that shares SDG experience from cities across all continents (incl. some research participants), also to inspire young leaders Fast track SDG Assessment & Plans ('VLR Light') – building a pragmatic low-barrier approach to Further research on the business and financing case for SDGs is underway
With 2020, the decade of action has begun. This research has underlined the urgency for cities to own the action and be pragmatic in action. We retain optimism that many goals can be achieved with a renewed mindset and approach. However, the clock is ticking…
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Urban Race for SDGs
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