17 July 2018: The University of Bristol Cabot Institute and Bristol Green Capital Partnership published a paper on actions to achieve the SDGs at the city level in Bristol, UK. The paper titled, ‘Bristol Method+: Driving the Sustainable Development Goals agenda at city level in Bristol,’ draws on inputs from members of the Bristol SDG Alliance to look at the SDGs’ relevance for Bristol, the origins of city-level action and how actors have engaged to help drive the SDG agenda.

The paper reviews Bristol’s history vis-à-vis the SDGs, beginning with the city being a “European Green Capital” in 2015. The Bristol SDG Alliance was established in October 2016, aiming to: drive Bristol’s long-term sustainability and resilience; monitor progress and enable the region to hold itself to account; and connect community and city-level action to national and global challenges. The Alliance’s workstreams and successes include: having informed a Parliamentary committee inquiry into national SDG policy; a report on “the SDGs and Bristol;” and linking research on SDG engagement in cities.

The publication shares Bristol’s “One City Plan,” for which the SDGs provide a common language for city partners. The Plan features locally-developed priorities, which have been blended with 75 of the 169 global SDG targets, resulting in what the paper describes as “Bristol’s SDGs.” These targets, the paper reports, were presented to city stakeholders in June 2018, to help integrate them into the City Council and other actors’ local-level work.

Among the key learnings and advice for other cities, the publication highlights: outreach and knowledge sharing; engaging across the three dimensions of sustainability; and building on existing networks. The paper further notes the use of anchor institutions and existing indicators to start off, and underlines the importance of political support to demonstrate the SDGs’ value and engage citizens. [Publication: Bristol Method+ Driving the Sustainable Development Goals agenda at city level in Bristol] [Bristol Method+ Webpage] [News Release]