ABSTRACT
As the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) gains momentum, cities and communities are at the forefront of delivering change. These efforts, known as localizing the SDGs, require communities to embrace the challenge of measuring progress, requiring data management and communication. In the face of a growing movement to localize the SDGs, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), an independent think tank, recognized that its experiences with Peg, a community indicator system (CIS) for Winnipeg, Manitoba, could assist other communities’ efforts to measure local progress towards the SDGs.
In this chapter, we share the experiences of building and refining Peg and its indicators. Peg was founded in 2009 as a partnership between the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the United Way of Winnipeg (UWW). Like many other CIS projects, Peg faced significant hurdles in ensuring its own sustainability, including funding, access to data, and providing meaningful measurements that matter to Winnipeggers. In 2017, we undertook a substantial redesign of Peg to align its indicators with the SDGs. The following sections outline the lessons learned during Peg’s development and redesign to localize the SDGs as metrics of performance for sustainability outcomes.
