Giving Compass' Take:

• Here are insights from city leaders sharing how SDG principles can serve as helpful guidelines to address similar problems related to the COVID-19 crisis. 

• These principles remain useful to organizing a recovery that combines growth, inclusion, and sustainability. How can donors work with city officials to support any action steps against COVID-19?

• Learn how to address COVID-19 by investing in the SDGs. 

Prior to COVID-19, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were gaining traction among local governments and city leaders as a framework to focus local policy on ambitious targets around inclusion, equity, and sustainability. Several cities published reports of their local progress on the SDGs in Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR), echoing the official format used by countries to report their nation’s progress at the U.N.

Then came the current crisis. The focus immediately shifted to managing the health crisis and the closing of the economy. In the next few years, the priority for local decisionmakers will be recovery. It is too early to know whether the time-bound targets of the SDGs will be reset, but their principles remain useful to organizing a recovery that combines growth, inclusion, and sustainability.

These interviews with city leaders, which occurred at a Brookings SDG Leadership Cities gathering hosted by Mexico City just months before COVID-19 emerged, illustrate this framework. They offer insights into how the principles of the SDGs can provide support on rebuilding an inclusive economy.

  1. The SDGs are a basis for sharing solutions The COVID-19 crisis has stimulated city cooperation and information exchange across borders.
  2. SDG data helps mobilize action Recovery from COVID-19 will require addressing multiple dimensions of development. The SDGs encourage cities to identify the priorities they’d like to achieve by 2030 and accurately measure their progress.
  3. Reporting progress on the SDGs demonstrates vision and impact Cities are exhibiting leadership through the growing movement to report their progress on the SDGs with a Voluntary Local Review.
  4. The SDGs serve as leverage for financing and partnerships Addressing the complex local challenges stemming from COVID-19 warrants a deep rethinking of municipal policies, financing mechanisms, and governance practices.

Read the full article about insights about SDGs by Anthony F. Pipa and Max Bouchet at Brookings.