What’s in a Voluntary Local Review?

Further reading and resources

City of Espoo VLR (2021): Using the Espoo Story as its foundation, this report reviews the various phenomena, projects, and actions of Espoo in accordance with Agenda 2030, developed through the cooperation of multiple units in the municipal government. See also the Seven Steps to Strategic SDG Sensemaking for Cities.
City of Helsingborg VLR (2021): This report analyses the city’s progress towards each of the 17 SDGs in partnership with RISE Research Institute. See also the Quality of Life Programme.
City of Asker VLR (2021): Asker’s first VLR uses the Bold City Vision framework (developed by Trondheim Kommune) and the U4SSC KPI methodology to review the municipality’s work thus far as well as prepare a clear way forward in the coming years with a focus on strategic planning, budgeting, and management.
KS Voluntary Subnational Review-Norway (2021): A report conducted by the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) to review how all 356 Norwegian municipalities and 11 regions are working towards SDG implementation in their respective contexts as a way to connect municipal work and also link this work to Norway’s 2021 Voluntary National Review.
Statistics Norway and KS: Taxonomy for indicators related to the Sustainable Development Goals (2021): A classification system to assess indicators for the monitoring of SDGs, with a particular emphasis on implementation at the sub-national level.
Kolada database. Sweden’s SALAR together with non-profit association RKA has developed and update a portal for all municipalities in the country to review and analyse SDG performance based on national statistics.

European Handbook for SDG Voluntary Local Reviews (2020) by the Joint Research Commission (JRC) offers a framework for the selected indicators in a VLRs, and for these to be, as far as possible, comparable among European cities, as well as being tailored to the local context and issues.
Guidelines for Voluntary Local Reviews Volume 1: A Comparative Analysis of Existing VLRs (2020) by UCLG designed to provide local and regional governments globally with key information developing a VLR.
Guidelines for Voluntary Local Reviews Volume 2: Towards a New Generation of VLRs by UCLG Exploring (2021) explores the local-national links by emphasising VLRs and VNRs.
Voluntary Local Review – a bridge between Global Goals and Local Reality: A recent mapping by Global Utmaning (2022) showcasing experiences from conducting a VLR in the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Partnership Countries.

Acknowledgements

Nordregio would like to thank the practitioners and experts who provided key inputs to the webinar and this policy brief: Ville Taajamaa (SDG Manager, Mayor’s Office, City of Espoo), Helen Wiklund (Sustainability Strategist, City of Helsingborg), Geir Graff (Innovation Strategist, Asker Municipality/KS), and Ottar Freyr Gíslason (Head of Brussels Office, Samband).

Extended gratitude also goes the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), the Icelandic Association of Local Authorities (Samband), Association of Finnish Municipalities (Kuntaliitto), the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), Local Government Denmark (KL), and the Nordic Expert Group for Sustainable Development.