UNU-CRIS working paper, 2021, 1: The 2020 SDG Index for Flemish Cities: Construction and Analysis

This report explains the construction of a set of indexes that summarise the performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for all 300 Flemish municipalities. The 2020 edition of the Flemish SDG index and monitor offers a number of improvements over the previous version, including an expanded set of indicators, the use of the newly released household survey data as well as the ability to track the scores over time. This data is used to construct indexes comparing the performance …

This report explains the construction of a set of indexes that summarise the performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for all 300 Flemish municipalities. The 2020 edition of the Flemish SDG index and monitor offers a number of improvements over the previous version, including an expanded set of indicators, the use of the newly released household survey data as well as the ability to track the scores over time. This data is used to construct indexes comparing the performance of the municipalities relative to the top and bottom performances in Flanders. Having constructed the indexes, we then try to distinguish and explain the patterns that can be identified in the overall score, as well as the score on the individual SDGs. Specifically, we look at geographical, demographic and economic characteristics of the municipalities. In this way, we aim to offer policymakers different ways to understand the performance of their municipalities. As such, the exploratory nature of the findings of this report displays the versatility of recently developed monitoring tools to facilitate the implementation of the SDGs. The comparative nature of the index can help pave the way for municipalities who wish to take pro-active stances towards reaching the SDGs by 2030.