Developing the 2023 SDG Monitor: Methodology and Insights

In partnership with the VVSG, IDEA Consult and UNU-CRIS have developed a comprehensive index and website to track the SDG readiness of Flemish municipalities.  This initiative aims to provide municipalities with the tools and resources they need to assess, monitor, and improve their progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The 2023 SDG Monitor serves as a crucial policy tool, guiding local municipalities in their efforts to meet the SDGs.   

The monitor includes data on 208 indicators detailing the socioeconomic and environmental outcomes of all 300 Flemish municipalities.  These indicators, focused on the progress toward achieving the SDGs, were selected based on their relevance to Flemish municipalities and their ability to measure specific development outcomes.  The selection process involved stakeholder meetings with the VVSG and VVP, resulting in an extensive list of suggested indicators.  

To ensure comparability, the indicators were rescaled relative to the top and bottom performance in Flanders.  This approach allows for a direct comparison of all Flemish municipalities, regardless of their size or income.  The rescaled indicators are grouped into 59 sub-indexes and then combined into 15 SDG indexes.    

The 2023 SDG Monitor reveals a slowdown in progress over recent years, with some scores even reversing.

SDGs 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, and 16 have all decreased in the last three years, leading to a small but statistically significant drop in the overall SDG index.  The main contributing factors are declines in SDG 3D Health Infrastructure, SDG 4C Pre-school and Primary Education, SDG 7C Affordability of Energy, and SDG 12B Environmental Consciousness.