This Call for Best Practices closed 21 May 2018.

 

An opportunity to present your project at the global level

 

What: Cities Alliance is launching a call for best practices that take an integrated approach to the Follow-up and Review process for the global sustainability agendas at the local level. We are looking for experiences that show how the global sustainability agendas are translated in line with the realities and needs of local actors.

Who: Local and regional governments, civil society and/or private sector from any city or country who are engaging in the Follow-Up and Review  (FuR) processes of the global sustainability agendas at the local level are invited to apply.

Why: The three best practices will be showcased at activities linked to the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York 16-18 July 2018 and featured in a publication.

When: The deadline for applications is midnight, 21 May 2018, Central European Time.

 

 

       
 

 

Documents

Call for Best Practices 

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Factsheet

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Application Forms

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The global sustainability agendas adopted in 2015-2016 – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda (NUA), the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction – broke new ground in recognising the role of cities as drivers for sustainable development. This is most evident in the 2030 Agenda, with its dedicated Sustainable Development Goal on Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11) and urban and territorial dimensions to many other SDGs.

If these global agendas are to be successful, the local contribution to their implementation must be reflected in the processes capturing the Follow-up and Review (FuR) of the respective agreements. Strong FuR processes at all levels are needed to maintain commitment for the agendas over time, and they require assessment and monitoring by local and regional governments and other local stakeholders. This entails new approaches to generating and using multiple sources of data. It also implies introducing qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess progress towards the transformative change pursued by the global sustainability agendas, as well as the effectiveness of enabling conditions for the role of cities as places and agents of sustainability (such as national urban policies).

A clear tendency to limit the urban dimension of the 2030 Agenda to SDG11 has already emerged.  This carries the danger that governments will fail to understand the urban dimension that is evident in many of the other SDGs. There is an urgent need to articulate approaches based on the interlinkages across all SDGs and global sustainability agendas, as well as across the different development challenges that most cities face.

The Cities Alliance recently launched a report on the Role of local and regional governments and their partners in the follow-up and review of global sustainability agendas through its Joint Work Programme (JWP) on Cities in the Global Agendas. The report provides recommendations for stronger involvement by all these actors to monitor progress on the various global sustainability agendas in an integrated way.

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To advance the understanding of the challenges and opportunities of FuR, the Cities Alliance is launching a call for best practices that take an integrated approach to the FuR of the global sustainability agendas at the local level.

We are looking for experiences from all over the world that demonstrate how the global sustainability agendas are translated into the realities and needs of local actors, and that can help us find answers to some of the following questions:

  • How do local and regional governments and local communities address the challenge of integrating the FuR of several global sustainability agendas?
  • How is relevant data collected and disaggregated to ensure sound monitoring processes?
  • How does local reporting feed into the regional, national and global FuR processes?
  • What do interventions in cities teach us about participatory approaches and multi-stakeholder partnerships for successful delivery of the agendas?
  • What are the major challenges for FuR at the local level?

 


This discussion is timely: From 9-18 July 2018, the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) will review progress at the global level on five SDGs, including SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities, with 47 countries presenting their voluntary national reports. The HLPF is the main United Nations platform on sustainable development and plays a central role in the FuR of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level.

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Win a chance to present your project at the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York. The three best projects will be invited to participate in activities linked to this year’s UN High Level Political Forum session from 16-18 July 2018 with an all-expenses paid trip to New York. By showcasing their innovative approaches, the selected case studies will be able to inform global efforts on how the urban and territorial dimensions accelerate the integrated implementation and FuR of the global sustainability agendas.
Be published. A widely disseminated publication will feature and analyse the best practices and lessons learned of the top five selected projects to facilitate replicating, scaling up or transfer in other regions, countries and sectors/areas.
Become part of the Cities Alliance network. Selected projects will become part of the wider Cities Alliance network. The Cities Alliance will explore possibilities to record the evolution of the selected projects by facilitating linking them (as appropriate) to other partners and/or global events so that other cities/ countries benefit from the experiences.

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Local and regional governments, civil society and/ or private sector from any city or country who are engaging in the FuR processes of one or more of the following global sustainability agendas at the local level: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Note: Submissions from projects implemented by a Cities Alliance member will not be considered. Cities Alliance members cannot be involved in the project management; however, they may be a supportive partner.

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1. Fill out the application form in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese.

2. Submit the application as a Word file to beyondSDG11@citiesalliance.org by 21 May 2018, midnight, Central European Time
 

The selected projects will be announced at the beginning of June 2018.

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The following elements will be taken into consideration in the selection of the best practices, as reflected in the application form: Data collection and analysis; FuR reporting; synergies between the FuR of the different agendas; cooperation, consultation and communication; impact; sustainability; and scalability and replicability.

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The responsibilities of the selected projects include:

  • Representing the project in the publication (finalised by December 2018) and in the activities organised at the HLPF 2018
  • Providing accurate, genuine supporting documentation to the Cities Alliance Secretariat for drafting the knowledge product featuring selected case studies
  • Treating early drafts of the publication as confidential until finalised
  • Accrediting delegates for eventual participation in HLPF sessions in accordance to HLPF rules: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2018#reg
  • Organising visas or any other travel documentation required for eventual travel to/from and stay in New York during HLPF

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For more information, please contact

beyondSDG11@citiesalliance.org

 

 

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