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Measuring the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals at a Local Level: The WeGIx Index

  • Gisela Marta OliveiraEmail author
  • Diogo Guedes Vidal
  • Lilian Monteiro Ferrari Viterbo
  • Rui Leandro Maia
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the World Sustainability Series book series (WSUSE)

Abstract

The broadness and ambition of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for commitment and effort from all society sectors. Either at national or local level, where the action of communities and governance is of the utmost importance for the implementation and operationalization of such an interconnected and transformative agenda, adequate means for monitoring, measurement and accountability of plans and actions are also required. Academia, being one of the strongest pillars of the contemporary societies, should embrace its role as both a promoter and supporter of this universal Agenda, not only by developing fundamental scientific knowledge and educational resources but by also acting as advisers for governmental decisions and the establishment of proper and tailored public policies. This work describes the design and application processes of WeGIx—a composite indicator aiming to be a global objective measure of communities’ quality of life, at municipality level. WeGIx quantifies a combination of forty-three variables contributing to tackle municipalities’ global progress, in an integrated manner, on SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16. Results of the WeGIx application on Portugal demonstrate development asymmetries in municipalities and help to identify implementation gaps and improvement opportunities.

Keywords

Composite indicator Local level Sustainable development Objective quantification SDGs indicators 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

WeGIx is a research project of FP-ENAS—UFP Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit funded by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. through project UID/MULTI/4546/2016.

The authors expressed their gratitude to Carolina Borba Oliveira for English reviewing.

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© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

Authors and Affiliations

  • Gisela Marta Oliveira
    • 1
    Email author
  • Diogo Guedes Vidal
    • 1
  • Lilian Monteiro Ferrari Viterbo
    • 1
    • 2
  • Rui Leandro Maia
    • 1
    • 3
  1. 1.Fernando Pessoa Energy, Environment and Health Research UnitUniversity Fernando PessoaPortoPortugal
  2. 2.PetrobrasSalvadorBrazil
  3. 3.CITCEM—Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar «Cultura, Espaço E Memória»Faculdade de Letras Da Universidade Do PortoPortoPortugal

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