Sustainable development is no longer only about defining ambitious global goals—it is about ensuring that these goals translate into measurable improvements in people’s everyday lives. As countries face increasingly complex social, economic, and environmental challenges, the quality of local governance has become a decisive factor in delivering sustainable development.
“Think globally, act locally” has become one of the defining mottos of sustainable development. Yet, more than a decade after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, turning global ambitions into tangible improvements in people’s daily lives remains one of the greatest governance challenges.
The recent report titled SDG Localization in Europe and Central Asia: Guidelines to Support Subnational Development Planning and Budgeting (jointly developed by UNDP and FAO) argues that the answer lies not only in stronger national policies, but in empowering local governments to become genuine partners in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report provides an overview of decentralization and subnational decision making in Europe and Central Asia and offers examples of pilot initiatives to localize the SDGs in the region and beyond.
While many countries have made substantial progress in integrating the SDGs into national development strategies, subnational implementation remains uneven. Many local planning documents continue to reflect national priorities more than locally identified development needs, and localization efforts are often concentrated in urban and peri-urban areas, leaving many rural and marginalized communities behind.
This gap is further compounded by challenges such as limited financial resources, constrained institutional capacity, and difficulties in monitoring and accountability at the local level.
Decentralization creates the opportunity—but not automatically the results
The current role of local governments across Europe and Central Asia is rooted in the broader decentralization reforms that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Countries have gradually moved away from centralized governance systems toward models that promote greater local autonomy and citizen participation.
However, this transition has been uneven. Some countries have developed relatively strong and autonomous local governments, while others remain highly centralized. Consequently, institutional arrangements and the distribution of responsibilities vary considerably across the region.
Despite these differences, most countries operate through multi-level governance systems in which responsibilities are shared among national, regional, and municipal authorities. In principle, this brings decision-making closer to citizens. In practice, however, local governments often face limited fiscal autonomy, insufficient administrative capacity, and dependence on transfers from central government, restricting their ability to plan and finance long-term development priorities.
National governments have generally advanced further in integrating the SDGs into strategic planning and reporting frameworks, supported by national statistical systems and Voluntary National Reviews. Increasingly, these efforts also incorporate the Leave No One Behind (LNOB) principle through the use of disaggregated data and targeted policy measures.
At the local level, however, translating national commitments into concrete actions remains more challenging. This highlights an important message of the Guidelines: SDG localization is not merely about preparing better development plans—it is about enabling local governments to act effectively within a coherent governance system supported by adequate resources, institutional capacity, and meaningful partnerships.
Localizing the SDGs in local and subnational policy documents
Although subnational SDG localization is still evolving, many local development strategies already reflect SDG priorities, even when they are not explicitly framed within the SDG agenda. Across the region, local policies typically concentrate on three broad areas. The first is human development, encompassing education, healthcare, employment, poverty reduction, and social inclusion. The second is infrastructure and environmental sustainability, including water and sanitation, energy, housing, natural resource management, and climate resilience. The third is urban and territorial development, focusing on public services, transportation, spatial planning, and cultural heritage. These priorities demonstrate that many municipalities are already addressing issues central to sustainable development, even without explicitly referencing specific SDGs.
To support this process, governments have increasingly used tools such as UNDP’s Rapid Integrated Assessment to evaluate how well local and national policies correspond with SDG targets. These assessments have also revealed important gaps, particularly regarding responsible consumption, sustainable production, and marine ecosystems, which tend to receive less attention in local planning.
Yet, one challenge consistently emerges across countries: implementation capacity. Even well-designed development strategies are unlikely to achieve meaningful results without stronger institutions, better data systems, enhanced technical expertise, and sustainable financing.
Leave no one behind: a principle that must be local
One of the defining features of the Guidelines is the emphasis placed on the Leave No One Behind (LNOB) principle. Localization is not simply about transferring global goals to the municipal level; it is about ensuring that development planning reflects the needs of those who are often excluded from decision-making and public services.
The Guidelines encourage local governments to identify groups facing structural barriers—including women, youth, persons with disabilities, migrants, older persons, and rural communities—and to ensure their meaningful participation throughout planning, implementation, and monitoring processes. This requires inclusive stakeholder engagement, accessible consultation processes, and the use of disaggregated data to better understand local inequalities.
Embedding LNOB into local governance helps ensure that development strategies respond to the realities of communities rather than relying solely on national averages or standardized policy approaches.
Lessons from Europe and Central Asia
The Guidelines illustrate that there is no single model for SDG localization. Countries across Europe and Central Asia are progressing at different speeds, reflecting diverse governance systems, decentralization trajectories, and institutional capacities. Nevertheless, several common lessons emerge.
First, pilot initiatives matter. Municipalities that began with small-scale localization exercises were able to build institutional knowledge, test methodologies, and generate political support before expanding their efforts. Experiences from Belgium, Japan, Sweden, Türkiye, and other countries demonstrate how pilot projects help identify both enabling conditions and practical obstacles.
Second, political leadership is indispensable. Successful localization depends on mayors, municipal councils, and senior public officials who view the SDGs not as external reporting requirements but as practical tools for improving governance and public service delivery.
Third, partnerships consistently emerge as a defining success factor. Municipalities that collaborate with civil society organizations, academia, the private sector, and community groups develop more comprehensive development strategies and stronger implementation mechanisms than those working in isolation. In this way, SDG localization reinforces collaborative governance models that have become increasingly important within decentralization reforms.
A seven-step framework for effective localization
To bridge the gap between policy commitments and implementation, the Guidelines propose a practical methodology that is designed to complement existing local planning cycles rather than replace them.
The framework includes:
- Inception and stakeholder engagement through broad participation of government institutions, civil society, the private sector, and groups at risk of exclusion.
- Situational analysis and draft plan formulation, based on local economic, social, environmental, and territorial conditions.
- Institutional analysis and governance strengthening, examining coordination mechanisms, fiscal arrangements, and institutional capacities.
- Planning for implementation, including realistic timelines, financing sources, budgets, and pilot initiatives.
- Data and indicator selection, combining global SDG indicators with locally relevant data and disaggregated information.
- Formalization of the development planning document, bringing all components into a coherent and publicly accessible strategy.
- Monitoring and accountability, including the preparation of Voluntary Local Reviews that contribute to national reporting.
What distinguishes this framework is not the individual steps themselves but their sequencing. The Guidelines emphasize understanding local conditions and institutional realities before defining priorities and selecting indicators. They also recognize data collection and monitoring as integral parts of planning rather than activities carried out only after implementation begins.
Equally important, the framework integrates planning and budgeting throughout the process. Localization is expected to influence not only development strategies but also municipal budget priorities, ensuring that financial resources are aligned with agreed development objectives.
Looking ahead: localization as the next generation of decentralization
The debate on decentralization has traditionally focused on transferring powers, responsibilities, and resources from central to local governments. While these dimensions remain essential, the SDGs introduce an additional question: how can decentralization produce better development outcomes for citizens?
The answer lies in strengthening the capacity of local governments to integrate economic, social, and environmental priorities into coherent development strategies while ensuring that no one is left behind. In this sense, SDG localization intends to be not simply a UN-driven planning methodology. Instead, it seeks to represent a governance approach that promotes cross-sector collaboration, citizen participation, accountability, and more responsive local institutions—qualities that are increasingly recognized as fundamental to resilient governance systems.
Access the full report:
FAO and UNDP. 2023. SDG localization in Europe and Central Asia – Guidelines to support subnational development planning and budgeting. Budapest. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8164en
