The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have carried out an online survey of local and regional authorities and stakeholders on their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The results were presented today during the conference "Regions and Cities Making the SDGs Happen".
Key findings of the survey include:
-
59% of respondents are familiar with the SDGs and currently working to implement them. Among respondents representing regions or large or medium cities (more than 50 000 inhabitants) this share rises to approximately 80% or more, while for small municipalities the share is 37%.
-
58% of the respondents currently working to implement the SDGs have also defined indicators to measure progress on the goals, with local indicators much more commonly used than those of the EU or UN.
- The
most common challenges in implementing the SDGs - highlighted by half of respondents - are "Lack of awareness, support, capacities or trained staff" and "difficulty to prioritise the SDGs over other agendas".
- More than
90% of respondents are in favour of an EU overarching long-term strategy to mainstream the SDGs within all policies and ensure efficient coordination across policy areas.
The key results of the survey are summarised in the
results note, while the full figures are available in the
annex.
The survey on "The key contribution of regions and cities to sustainable development" was carried out from 13 December 2018 to 1 March 2019 and gathered answers from 400 respondents. The results will feed into the ongoing work of the CoR and OECD on the SDGs, including the CoR opinion "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a basis for a long-term EU strategy for a sustainable Europe by 2030" as well as the final report of the OECD Programme on
A Territorial Approach to SDGs. A Role for cities and regions to leave no one behind.