Islands Leading on Localised SDG Implementation: Dashboards as a Tool to Strengthen Decision Making

A UN High-level Political Forum 2023 Official Side Event 

2023 Conference Theme: "Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”

Date: 14 July 2023

Time: 8:00 - 9:30am

Location: New York, New York, USA   

Background
The Local2030 Islands Network is the first global, island-led network devoted to addressing the climate crisis by advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through locally driven, culturally informed solutions. Launched during the 74th U.N. General Assembly (2019), the Local2030 Islands Network brings together a diverse set of island nations, states, and communities from all regions of the world -- islands connected through our shared island experiences, cultures and vision. The Network serves a platform for island-led solutions, connecting islands in new ways to address climate change and sustainability, honoring their unique position as large ocean states to be leaders on topics related to the blue economy, climate action, indigenous knowledge, and regenerative approaches to development challenges.  The Network convenes island leaders and experts from across jurisdictions meet as peers, working to develop and share innovative homegrown solutions that advance global progress on the SDGs. The Network provides and promotes virtual learning and sharing opportunities in a demand-driven manner including through four Communities of Practice, events and webinars, highlighting best practices, and facilitates support for various aspects of SDG implementation. The Network actualized its peer-to-peer modality with the inaugural in-person convening of two of the Communities of Practice on Data for Climate Resilience and Sustainable and Regenerative Tourism, which brought over 100 islands from nearly 40 global island economies across the Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian, and Pacific Oceans for a 5-day technical capacity building and knowledge exchange conference. Additionally, the Network offers licensing and support for the creation of custom Dashboard tools for measuring SDG Progress to its member economies, modeled after Hawai’i’s Aloha+Dashboard.

At the 2023 HLPF, 42 countries will carry out Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including 11 island nations, including: Bahrain, Barbados, Comoros, Fiji, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland,  Maldives, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Timor-Leste. Additionally, Hawai‘i will be submitting its second Voluntary Local Review (VLR). The Local2030 Islands Network will convene island leadership on the occasion of the 2023 High-Level Political Forum to advance collaboration and solutions sharing on data-driven decision-making for the local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in island-based contexts, and accelerate the creation of Local2030 Islands Network (Esri-enabled) SDG Dashboards by island governments as a tool for presenting VNR data publicly. At island level, dashboards improve understanding of how the island is progressing towards its sustainability goals in a simple and effective way that all citizens can view.

Objective of the UN HLPF Side Event

The Local2030 Islands Network is a unique peer-to-peer platform for local implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and works with island economies to develop SDG Dashboards, built using Esri software, which provides continuous monitoring and transparency, and supports regular  VNR and VLR reporting.. The Network also champions the localization of the SDGs to fit the unique development trajectories of island economies, strengthened by transparent, credible, holistic, and updated data to inform national development planning (SDG 11) and increase resilience for island states.

The Network, through the SDG Dashboards and its Community of Practice on Data for Climate Resilience, strengthens island capacities for data-driven decision-making. This year’s HLPF will see the submission of 11 VNRs, in addition to the 2022 island VNRs submitted by Dominica, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Jamaica, Netherlands, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tuvalu, Greece, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Suriname. The Local2030 Islands Network seeks to harness the momentum of these VNR submissions by islands to convene island members, and island supporters for an official HLPF Side Event on how to utilize VNR and VLR data for more data-informed decision making and the actualization and implementation of the SDGs in island contexts. The event will showcase the data-forward approaches of Ireland, Fiji, Grenada, Palau and Hawai’i (VLR) as they submit their Voluntary National Reviews, highlighting many of these islands’ use of Esri technology to showcase, track, and publicly present their data as an accountability mechanism.

Speakers from the Local2030 Islands Network, Ireland, Palau, Grenada, Fiji, and Hawai‘i will share experiences, best practices, and localized solutions to enhancing their ability to utilize VNR/VLR data for informed decision-making, especially as it relates to the HLPF 2023 theme of “accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (Covid19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”. As SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) is in review in 2023, a particular emphasis will be placed on how this data can drive sustainable national and regional development planning for the actualization of Agenda2030 (Target 11.8). Many islands have shared their unique challenges with collecting and analyzing data.

Partners include: