In September 2019, the UN Secretary-General called on all sectors of society to mobilize for a decade of action to deliver the promises of the SDGs by 2030. In many ways, achieving the SDGs is directly linked to the capacity of local and regional governments to ensure access to basic services that underpin the quality of life. A predominant finding in the research conducted is how the current pandemic has set back parts of the progress made on the 2030 Agenda and made the delivery of services more difficult. Moreover, COVID-19 has demonstrated the crucial role local and regional governments play, taking powerful decisions in exceptional circumstances.

As we move forward, strategic decisions need to be carefully designed to determine the way cities and regions continue to respond to the pandemic around the world and how they plan to reconstruct and improve their communities. To inform these decisions and to help guide international organizations’ support, this baseline has uncovered the important challenges and opportunities for the local implementation of the SDGs that relate to the broader themes of advocacy, action, and monitoring. In addition, this effort builds on the New Urban Agenda, which functions as an accelerator of the SDGs, being emphatic about making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

Thus, it raises awareness of the need for and importance of generating localized actions at the local level. Similarly, it aims to prepare all urban stakeholders on the global level to better understand and apply the propositions for the localization of the SDGs and generate synergies with other agendas, such as the Paris Agreement and the National Determined Contributions (NDCs).

First, local actors in several countries are finding it difficult to engage in stages at the national, regional, and global levels where priority setting, programming, and funding are discussed and decided. Second, there is the danger that the SDGs may not be achieved by 2030, and the current pandemic has caused regression concerning some of the goals. Third, systemic interactions between targets must be considered for effective policy design and implementation. Finally, one key issue is the lack of benchmarking of the 2030 Agenda implementation.

Key findings

A key barrier to effective localization is often found in weak institutions and systems of governance. While countries face different governance constraints at different stages of their development, the importance of responsive, inclusive, and accountable governance systems for SDG localization cannot be understated.

Serious gaps were found in the analysis of the 2030 Agenda interlinkages (synergies and tradeoffs) and the policy coherence that is needed to address them. Even though integration is present as a narrative in the case studies, the research shows that the concept of integration is not being
actively implemented within the context of the SDGs. Few cases have conducted such an analysis to inform planning, policy making, and monitoring.

More than one third into the implementation of SDGs, a significant number of case studies
show that local policies have not been mapped or aligned with the 2030 Agenda. An enabling policy and institutional environment includes the adoption of laws and regulations to ensure policy coherence, cohesion, coordination, and cooperation among all the relevant stakeholders; however, this remains a serious gap.

In many cases, the coordination of SDG implementation is led mainly by the national government. The study also found low engagement of local governments in many case studies, highlighting the need for greater involvement in these processes throughout all governance levels. Therefore, it is necessary to continue improving the involvement of an ever-increasing number of sectors and actors, promoting the inclusion and empowerment of the most vulnerable groups in the agenda, as well as strengthening their participation in the follow-up, and monitoring beyond the Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs).

There is a need to strengthen and increase the participation of local actors in international forums. Local actors advocate for cities and localities to be included as relevant actors to implement the SDGs. Furthermore, there is a lack of training and exchange within the framework of different regional and global summits. Presently, this lack of participation can lead to the perception that only national/state achievements are shared, but not local ones. Sharing positive experiences in localizing the SDGs can promote a significant change in this perception.

Findings suggest that financial support for SDG localization is strategically linked to the local government’s budget. Only a few cases show specific budget allocations for the SDGs; instead, local authorities map percentages of the traditional municipal budget to the Goals. Moreover, it was
identified that public-private partnerships provide additional resources to support the SDGs, especially in the Global South. Therefore, one of the opportunities to avoid budget constraints is to build partnerships with non-public actors.

Actors face a lack of harmony and standardization of tracking, monitoring systems, and methods for assessing progress on the SDGs, which hinders comparability, especially when comparing in localities. Moreover, challenges appear when local actors attempt to define “local” as a purely jurisdictional category, as the movement of people, goods, and services increases interdependence between territories, and administrative boundaries for monitoring indicators are increasingly blurred. Finally, there are difficulties due to the lack of inclusion of communities living on the edges of cities and possible ways to integrate their needs into localization strategies.