The Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings has published a report presenting lessons learned from three years of the Brookings SDG Leadership Cities Network. The report finds that in going beyond reporting on Goals and targets, cities are “undergoing a mindset shift” towards “building a shared local commitment that enables collaboration across sectors and jurisdictions.”

Authored by Anthony Pipa and Max Bouchet, the report titled, ‘Local Leadership Driving Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals,’ builds on the experiences of the SDG Leadership Cities Network, hosted by the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings. In so doing, it takes stock of the role city and local governments play in driving local as well as global progress, and looks at “the effects of their SDG commitments on improving their operations, effectiveness, and impact.”

The report highlights awareness, alignment, analysis, action, accountability, and ambition as the six mutually reinforcing elements of local SDG adaptation. Against this frame of reference, it explores how participant cities are experiencing the “SDG effect” – “tangible impacts and outcomes based on their shared commitment” to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Among lessons and recommendations for local governments that wish to accelerate progress on the SDGs, the report highlights:

• The SDGs “put concreteness behind” the concepts of “building back better” and accelerating a “just transition.” Cities can map existing strategies to the Goals to identify gaps and shift policy priorities towards transformative change.
• Local decision makers are reflecting the interconnectedness of the SDGs in new governance models through internal alignment efforts across city offices and cross-sectoral external collaboration with stakeholders and regional partners. Government officials are integrating the SDGs into budgeting and procurement processes.
• Cities are adapting SDG metrics to assess progress in a manner that is accountable and transparent, including through Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) and data dashboards, disaggregating data, and initiating efforts to measure the effect of their SDG commitments on community-level outcomes.
• The shared language of the SDGs is prompting new partnerships and collaboration across sectors, including between cities and the private sector, with goals, metrics, and values increasingly aligned across sectors and jurisdictions.
• City governments are using the SDGs to increase residents’ participation in local policy setting by building public awareness, trust, and engagement.
• The SDGs provide a platform where cities can align their local priorities with a global agenda.
• The SDGs have contributed to strengthening city-to-city cooperation and regional collaboration.

The authors warn that there are obstacles to accelerating local SDG progress, including limited financing options and economic authority, and political cycles. “Continued progress,” they note, “will depend upon refining and strengthening models of multi-level governance that enable connections and alignment among local, regional, and national policies.”

The SDG Leadership Cities Network comprises 17 “high-ambition cities and communities that are defining what it means to pursue the SDGs at the local level” – Accra (Ghana), Bogotá (Colombia), Bristol (UK), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Durban (South Africa), Hawai’i (US), Helsinki (Finland), Los Angeles (US), Madrid (Spain), Malmö (Sweden), Mannheim (Germany), Mexico City (Mexico), Milan (Italy), New York (US), Orlando (US), Pittsburgh (US), and Yokohama (Japan).

The SDG Leadership Cities Network and Toolkit bring together resources from the Network, including innovations, best practices, and tools to support city efforts in achieving a sustainable future.

The report was released in June 2022, ahead of the July session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). [Publication: Local Leadership Driving Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: Lessons from Three Years of the Brookings SDG Leadership Cities Network] [Publication Landing Page]