International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

Bottom-up Accountability for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Are subnational

indicator systems aligned?
Author(s): Charles Thrift and Livia Bizikova
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) (2016)

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BRIEFING NOTE

Bottom-up Accountability for

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Are subnational indicator systems aligned?
April 2016
Charles Thrift and Livia Bizikova

Introduction There are 17 SDGs with 169 corresponding targets

that are integrated and indivisible (see Figure 1).
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) build
on the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 Current international efforts focus on developing a
and intend to complete any their unfinished targets. set of indicators to measure progress toward the 169
The SDGs aim to achieve the human rights of all targets. Based on a series of governmental, expert and
people, with a special focus on gender equality for stakeholder discussions, 231 SDG indicators have
women and girls. The goals are an integrated balance been identified1—151 of which are considered well-
of all three domains of sustainable development: the established indicators already reported on by many
economy, society and the natural environment. statistical agencies.

1
The full list of indicators can be found in: UN Economic and Social Council.
Figure 1. Sustainable Development Goals 2016. E/CN.3/2016/2/Rev.1*, available at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/47th-
Source: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs session/documents/2016-2-IAEG-SDGs-Rev1-E.pdf.
IISD.org 1

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It is expected that the SDG indicators will become a indicator set covers a broader set of categories than
common reference point for national and subnational the green economy indicators, which contain only a
monitoring. Though many of the indicators will few indicators not in alignment with the focus of the
only be reported at a national level, many will be sustainable development indicators, but often have
based on data collected at the subnational level, and a deeper focus. For the remainder of this document,
it is intended that, where relevant, all indicators be we group the two indicator sets under the term
disaggregated by geographic location. Ultimately, “Sustainable Development and Green Economy
there remain many questions about how monitoring Indicators”.
will be done at the subnational level, how data will
be aggregated, and how to manage the collection and Indicator types reported at the
reporting of such a large number of indicators. subnational and global levels
In this briefing note we use two provincial indicator We started with an analysis of indicator types,
sets (the Province of Manitoba’s Sustainable grouping the indicators into four broad categories:
Development Indicators, and Green Economy (1) State indicators that give a sense of how we
Indicators) as a test case for evaluating alignment are doing in a particular domain (e.g., state of the
with the SDG indicators, to see if they are reporting environment); (2) Finances indicators that give a
on similar types of indicators and themes, and to sense of how financial resources are being allocated;
examine the extent to which subnational indicators (3) Policy indicators that track whether a particular
may align with the SDG indicators. framework, agreement, or policy is in place; and
(4) Management indicators that track the extent to
Are we ready to monitor SDGs at the which best practices or programs are implemented,
provincial level? or evaluate the performance of programs. These three
latter indicator types are used as proxies to measure
The Province of Manitoba’s sustainable development
management activities, rather than actual states.
indicators aim to “provide Manitobans with timely,
accurate information on important sustainability It is immediately apparent from the figures that the
issues and trends. It is a way of monitoring provincial indicator sets are structured differently
Manitoba’s sustainability by tracking and interpreting from the SDG indicators, as they contains no finance
key indicators in the province’s many sectors. By or policy indicators (see Figure 2). The provincial
studying and reporting on these indicators over time, indicator sets do include some management-
Manitobans can be kept informed about the progress type indicators (e.g., Adoption of sustainable
taking place and be encouraged to participate in the agricultural management practices). Policy and
long-term strategies for sustainable development in financial indicators included in the SDGs seem to
Manitoba” (Government of Manitoba, 2009, p.2). have a direct relevance to subnational governments
despite their low representation in the provincial
The provincial green economy indicators are
indicator set. For example, SDG policy and
intended to track progress in the greening of
financial indicators include the proportion of local
Manitoba’s economy over time. They reflect the state
governments that adopt and implement local disaster
of the environment (at a high level), as well some key
risk reduction strategies or spending on essential
pressures on the environment (i.e., what is causing
services (education, health and social protection) as
changes in the state of the environment) as they relate
a percentage of total government spending. These
to the economy / economic sectors.
indicators can be included in subnational indicator
Though the two indicator sets are not formally sets.
linked, significant alignment between the green
economy indicators and sustainable development
indicators is apparent. The sustainable development

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The differences in the two indicator sets may relate to The identified thematic alignment is presented in
the availability of better data in developed countries Figure 3. Thematic coverage was fairly good; 22
like Canada (even at the subnational level) on state per cent of the Manitoba sustainable development
indicators measuring actual changes in the issues indicators and 20 per cent of the green economy
areas of interest such as changes in water quality, indicators were considered aligned or somewhat
educational attainment rates, forest cover and land- aligned with the SDG indicators.
use change.
The gaps identified through the analysis are also of
Indicator alignment interest – there was no alignment identified for six
of the 17 SDGs, and for seven of the 19 thematic
In assessing the opportunity for indicator alignment,
categories. Some of these gaps are unsurprising (e.g.,
we searched first for thematic alignment, followed
no indicators related to Partnerships for the goals),
by a more detailed look at the individual targets and
whereas others present an opportunity to cover
indicators associated with the goals to see where
additional sustainability aspects.
indicators aligned most closely. We were looking
for close thematic alignment, rather than exactly
identical indicators. For instance, one SDG indicator
is “Mortality of cardiovascular disease, cancer,
diabetes or chronic respiratory disease” (an indicator
identified to track progress in reducing premature
mortality from non-communicable diseases). The
provincial sustainable development and green
economy indicators include a different, broader
indicator to capture premature mortality (potential
years of life lost) as a measure of overall health status.
These indicators were considered aligned.

Figure 2. Indicator types: SDGs, Manitoba sustainable development and green economy indicators

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Figure 3. Linkages between SDG indicators and MB Sustainable Development and Green Economy Indicators

What are the key gaps between the Thematically, the provincial Sustainable
Development and Green Economy Indicators
SDG and subnational indicators?
demonstrated strong alignment with the SDG
Ultimately, there remain many questions about how indicators (>20 per cent of provincial indicators
monitoring will be implemented at the subnational aligned with SDG indicators). Further, with some
level, how data will be aggregated, and how the minor adjustment, it would be possible to report on
collection and reporting on such a large number of indicators related to most goals. The comparison
indicators will be managed. However, by using the identified some areas where there is the potential for
Province of Manitoba’s Sustainable Development additional measures (Table 1).
and Green Economy Indicators as a test case for
evaluating alignment with the SDG indicators, we
were able to show that the typology of indicators
between the SDG indicators and subnational
indicators may vary significantly. In the case we
examined, there was no alignment beyond state-type
indicators.

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Table 1. Gaps related to Sustainable Development Goals relevant for the subnational context
Sustainable Development Goal Comments
Zero hunger Relates to food security. Some sample indicators from the
SDGs: (1) Prevalence of undernourishment; (2) Prevalence of
moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based
on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale; (3) Proportion of
agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture.
Gender equality Some provincial sustainable development and green economy
indicators are disaggregated by gender, which ties into equity.
Some example indicators from the SDGs: (1) Proportion
of seats held by women in national parliaments and local
governments; (2) Proportion of women in managerial positions.
Industry, innovation and Some examples from the SDGs: (1) Share of the rural
infrastructure population who live within 2 km of an all-season road; (2)
CO2 emissions per unit of value added; (3) Research and
development expenditure as a percentage of GDP.
Climate action Relates to actions to be taken, not about actual performance
on emissions. Examples: (1) Number of countries that have
integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early
warning into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula. (2)
Number of deaths, missing persons and persons affected by
disaster per 100,000 people.

Finally, in order to contribute to the bottom-up

accountability and reporting on SDGs, it is critically
important to align subnational indicator systems
so they can be aggregated at the national level into
country-level SDG progress reporting. Here, national
statistical and other data collection agencies play an
important role in fostering this alignment.

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