SDG Index featured by European Parliamentary Research Service
The Sustainable Development Report (including the SDG Index & Dashboards) was featured in a recent report on indices for policy making. The report was authored and published by the European Parliamentary Research Service.
On September 8, 2021, the European Parliamentary Research Service published an in-depth analysis titled “Ten composite indices for policy-making”. The short report features ten regional and global indices and discusses how indices can be used to inform policy-making in the EU. The Sustainable Development Report series (including the SDG Index) is listed alongside the Human Development Index and other international indices.
For each index, the authors present a short overview, discuss its methodology as well as its potential limitations, and explore how it can be used for policy making. The report concludes the following about the SDG Index:
“The SDG Index was clearly designed to help policy-makers track SDG progress and implement the policies needed in their country. The ‘SDG dashboards’ have been analysing trends since the first index. They highlight each country’s progress towards each SDG, and extrapolate its chances of achieving the SDGs by 2030. A system of arrows is used to describe the trends. This visualisation of trends can help policy-makers to concentrate on the SDGs on which their country is lagging behind, or at least to make appropriate trade-offs to improve their SDG score as well as SDG progress at global level. Each year, the report concentrates on a specific issue, and gives policy advice on achieving SDGs in that context. For instance, in 2021 the report examines ways to increase low-income developing countries’ fiscal space, in order to help them achieve the SDGs. In addition to the global report, the SDR team also publishes reports dedicated to regions (e.g. Europe), cities (e.g. Italian cities), or specific themes (e.g. racial inequality in delivering the SDGs in the United States).”
About the Sustainable Development Report
The Sustainable Development Report (including the SDG Index) is an annual publication that measures the progress of all 193 UN Member States on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The report brings together the most up-to-date metrics on sustainable development to provide policy-makers and the general public with an assessment of progress, trends, and key challenges that countries are facing in implementing the 2030 Agenda. The Sustainable Development Report is widely used by governments, researchers, corporations, and non-profit organizations.
The Sustainable Development Report is authored in collaboration between SDSN and the Bertelsmann Foundation and published by Cambridge University Press. The report is completely public and can be downloaded for free at www.sdgindex.org.
About the European Parliamentary Research Service
The European Parliamentary Research Service — also known as EPRS — is a research service and think tank for the European Parliament. It conducts independent and objective research on issues relevant to policy-making and the European Union. More information about the European Parliamentary Research Service is available at https://www.europarl.europa.eu/at-your-service/en/stay-informed/research-and-analysis.