9
2.3
Convening Baltimore
Stakeholders
2.3.1 The Core Project Team
The University of Baltimore (UB), which had
participated previously in the regional consultations
1
held during the development of the SDGs,
was selected by SDSN as the “host” for the SCIBaltimore program.
2
The College of Public
Affairs and the Baltimore Neighborhood
Indicators Alliance (BNIA) provided resources
and expertise to the initiative by planning and
serving as lead convener for a series of consultative discussions that aimed to (a) build and contextualize knowledge of the SDGs, (b) inform a
stocktaking exercise of current development
plans and actors, and (c) develop and refine a set
of proposed indicators for measuring development achievements aligning with the SDGs. The
entire project team leveraged existing relationships and the community in Baltimore to convene
key stakeholders in the service of the initiative’s
goals and to operationalize credible indicators
that reflect community concerns. In addition to
the resources of the University of Baltimore, the
core team included two additional partners:
University of Maryland (UMD) and Communities
Without Boundaries International (CWBI).
UMD’s National Center for Smart Growth played
an integral role in the review of potential SDG
1 United Nations Association of the USA (2014). Recap of
“Maryland Inter-Generational Consultation on UN
Development
Goals”
events/news/363-recap-of-q-maryland-inter-generationalconsultation-on-un-development-goals
2 In July 2014 the city of Baltimore designated the university as one of eight “Anchor Institutions” that provide vital
resources and support for the city’s sustainable growth.
UB was chosen as an Anchor Institution for its history of
providing innovative and accessible education to a diverse
population in an urban setting and for its positive economic impact including over $275 million in direct investment. The University of Baltimore fosters research and
education in highly relevant areas such as public policy
evaluation and global affairs and houses research centers
including the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators
Alliance.
indicators for Baltimore context and supported
outreach to stakeholders focused on environmental sustainability activities. CWBI, a nongovernmental organization that supports community
dialogue in locations worldwide, augmented the
discussions convened by UB by hosting meetings
for community leaders to provide feedback on
SCI-Baltimore activities, to reflect on technical
discussions about targets indicators, and to consider their roles in SDG implementation.
2.3.2 SCI-Baltimore SDG Executive
Team and Working Groups
Over the course of the year, several events were
convened to consult local organizations, experts,
and authorities on the stocktaking exercise and
indicator development and to establish a community of practice to coordinate numerous local sustainable development activities and to promote
SDG achievement over the long term. The
Baltimore SDGs Executive Team (SDG-ET)
brought together representatives from key organizations who the project team knew had knowledge of sustainable development strategies and
sustainable development data for Baltimore in
order to advise on the overall SCI-Baltimore process, review the relevance and appropriateness of
SDG targets and indicators that were revealed by
the preliminary stocktaking exercise, and brainstorm additional organizations and initiatives to
include in the SCI-Baltimore effort. Consequently,
an expanded list of “SDG partners” were convened as working groups to discuss proposed
SDG indicators for Baltimore that could be used
to set appropriate and realistic targets and track
them over time. In each of these meetings, participants were familiarized with the SDGs, the
stocktaking exercise on existing plans that
address these goals in Baltimore/Maryland, and
proposed indicators that can be measured and
tracked annually to benchmark current conditions in Baltimore.SDG partners participated in
the working groups in the area of “People,”
“Prosperity,” and “Planet,” as defined by the
2 Localizing the SDGs in Baltimore: Challenges and Opportunities of the USA Sustainable Cities Initiative
2.3
Convening Baltimore
Stakeholders
2.3.1 The Core Project Team
The University of Baltimore (UB), which had
participated previously in the regional consultations
1
held during the development of the SDGs,
was selected by SDSN as the “host” for the SCIBaltimore program.
2
The College of Public
Affairs and the Baltimore Neighborhood
Indicators Alliance (BNIA) provided resources
and expertise to the initiative by planning and
serving as lead convener for a series of consultative discussions that aimed to (a) build and contextualize knowledge of the SDGs, (b) inform a
stocktaking exercise of current development
plans and actors, and (c) develop and refine a set
of proposed indicators for measuring development achievements aligning with the SDGs. The
entire project team leveraged existing relationships and the community in Baltimore to convene
key stakeholders in the service of the initiative’s
goals and to operationalize credible indicators
that reflect community concerns. In addition to
the resources of the University of Baltimore, the
core team included two additional partners:
University of Maryland (UMD) and Communities
Without Boundaries International (CWBI).
UMD’s National Center for Smart Growth played
an integral role in the review of potential SDG
1 United Nations Association of the USA (2014). Recap of
“Maryland Inter-Generational Consultation on UN
Development
Goals”
events/news/363-recap-of-q-maryland-inter-generationalconsultation-on-un-development-goals
2 In July 2014 the city of Baltimore designated the university as one of eight “Anchor Institutions” that provide vital
resources and support for the city’s sustainable growth.
UB was chosen as an Anchor Institution for its history of
providing innovative and accessible education to a diverse
population in an urban setting and for its positive economic impact including over $275 million in direct investment. The University of Baltimore fosters research and
education in highly relevant areas such as public policy
evaluation and global affairs and houses research centers
including the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators
Alliance.
indicators for Baltimore context and supported
outreach to stakeholders focused on environmental sustainability activities. CWBI, a nongovernmental organization that supports community
dialogue in locations worldwide, augmented the
discussions convened by UB by hosting meetings
for community leaders to provide feedback on
SCI-Baltimore activities, to reflect on technical
discussions about targets indicators, and to consider their roles in SDG implementation.
2.3.2 SCI-Baltimore SDG Executive
Team and Working Groups
Over the course of the year, several events were
convened to consult local organizations, experts,
and authorities on the stocktaking exercise and
indicator development and to establish a community of practice to coordinate numerous local sustainable development activities and to promote
SDG achievement over the long term. The
Baltimore SDGs Executive Team (SDG-ET)
brought together representatives from key organizations who the project team knew had knowledge of sustainable development strategies and
sustainable development data for Baltimore in
order to advise on the overall SCI-Baltimore process, review the relevance and appropriateness of
SDG targets and indicators that were revealed by
the preliminary stocktaking exercise, and brainstorm additional organizations and initiatives to
include in the SCI-Baltimore effort. Consequently,
an expanded list of “SDG partners” were convened as working groups to discuss proposed
SDG indicators for Baltimore that could be used
to set appropriate and realistic targets and track
them over time. In each of these meetings, participants were familiarized with the SDGs, the
stocktaking exercise on existing plans that
address these goals in Baltimore/Maryland, and
proposed indicators that can be measured and
tracked annually to benchmark current conditions in Baltimore.SDG partners participated in
the working groups in the area of “People,”
“Prosperity,” and “Planet,” as defined by the
2 Localizing the SDGs in Baltimore: Challenges and Opportunities of the USA Sustainable Cities Initiative