SDG progress assessment; comparing apples with what?

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Bidarbakhtnia, Arman

Affiliations: Statistician, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Bangkok, Thailand | E-mail: [email protected]

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Statistician, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Bangkok, Thailand. E-mail: [email protected].

Note: [2] Values are normalized on the scale of ± 10.

Abstract: This paper looks at a selected number of metrics developed by different international organizations for measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aims to shed light on differences and highlight where harmonization is most necessary. It shows that inconsistency in results is more likely to be driven by different interpretations of concepts not methodologies, emphasizing that this has to be a priority in order for any harmonization to be successful. The paper provides a set of principles for orchestrating SDG progress assessment efforts across international organizations.

Keywords: Sustainable Development Goals, progress assessment, SDG indicators, normalization

DOI: 10.3233/SJI-210868

Journal: Statistical Journal of the IAOS, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 245-250, 2022