30
Growth, for example, manages a public dashboard that measures Hawaii’s progress and facilitates major public-private partnerships that
contribute toward the state’s SDG-aligned goals.
An immediate opportunity is to develop a platform for community organizations and citizens to
be engaged in providing indicators and data relevant to the proposed LA SDGs. In creating its
public dashboard, the city is adapting the opensource platform originally developed by the US
chief statistician’s office as the US reporting portal and could explore ways to integrate thirdparty community-level data. Another effort could
engage the creative community in Los Angeles to
develop storytelling and communications to reinforce and raise awareness of the city’s commitment. Partners such as the Hilton Foundation and
Occidental College can also act as champions to
engage their networks and encourage collaborative action.
• Use key SDG targets as a common denominator among different levels of government:
In related fashion, the government of the city
of Los Angeles does not have the statutory
authority to achieve all the aspirations outlined in
the proposed LA SDG framework. The proposed
benchmarks and targets clarify the city’s aspirations and can provide the basis for exploring
coordinated action, or at least coordinated measurement, on select priorities to leverage respective authorities and resources among city, county,
and state or federal government. The recent
emerging cooperation between the city and
county governments in reducing homelessness
serves as a model. An executive directive by the
mayor or a city council ordinance adopting the
LA SDG framework would add credibility and
weight to such efforts.
• Explore new financing opportunities:
Financial institutions, money managers, investors, and pension funds are exploring how the
SDGs, as a globally vetted and agreed-upon
framework, provide a standard framework for
analyzing environmental, social, and governance
factors. Firms like PIMCO are looking to structure SDG-specific product offerings, and the ratings agency Moody’s recently published an
assessment of the impacts of a Norwegian municipality’s commitment to the SDGs on its future
capital spending and borrowing.
• Provide opportunities for engagement by
residents:
While overall awareness of the SDGs is low,
support for the SDGs by the general public, once
educated, is consistently positive. A recent poll
by the UN Foundation found significant resonance among millennials. Other cities and
municipalities have found the SDGs to be a compelling motivator for citizens and local groups to
contribute toward the city’s well-being.
The commitment made by Mayor Garcetti
places Los Angeles in a leadership role among US
cities taking on the SDGs. It seems unlikely that the
proposed LA SDG framework, once finalized, will
constitute the singular strategy used by the mayor
and city council to define LA’s future. Nevertheless,
the city’s investment in localizing the SDGs provides a comprehensive basis, one that is data-driven
and outcome- focused, that can be a tool for enhancing and expanding solutions to improve the city’s
well- being. The challenge will be to take maximum
advantage.
Tony Pipa is a senior fellow in Global Economy and
Development at the Brookings Institution, where he
researches place-based policies to improve social progress
in the USA and globally, including use of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level. He also
studies the future of US multilateral aid and the applicability of lessons from international development to
improving rural development in the USA. During the
Obama administration, he served as chief strategy officer
and held several other senior policy positions at
USAID. He served as US Special Coordinator for the
Post- 2015 Agenda at the Department of State, leading the
US delegation at the UN to negotiate and adopt the SDGs.
Prior to his government service, he directed the NGO
Leaders Forum at Harvard University and was the founding CEO of the Warner Foundation. He serves on the
board of directors of StriveTogether and the Advisory
Council of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. He
attended Stanford University, graduated from Duke
University, and earned a Master of Public Administration
at the Harvard Kennedy School.
T. Pipa
Growth, for example, manages a public dashboard that measures Hawaii’s progress and facilitates major public-private partnerships that
contribute toward the state’s SDG-aligned goals.
An immediate opportunity is to develop a platform for community organizations and citizens to
be engaged in providing indicators and data relevant to the proposed LA SDGs. In creating its
public dashboard, the city is adapting the opensource platform originally developed by the US
chief statistician’s office as the US reporting portal and could explore ways to integrate thirdparty community-level data. Another effort could
engage the creative community in Los Angeles to
develop storytelling and communications to reinforce and raise awareness of the city’s commitment. Partners such as the Hilton Foundation and
Occidental College can also act as champions to
engage their networks and encourage collaborative action.
• Use key SDG targets as a common denominator among different levels of government:
In related fashion, the government of the city
of Los Angeles does not have the statutory
authority to achieve all the aspirations outlined in
the proposed LA SDG framework. The proposed
benchmarks and targets clarify the city’s aspirations and can provide the basis for exploring
coordinated action, or at least coordinated measurement, on select priorities to leverage respective authorities and resources among city, county,
and state or federal government. The recent
emerging cooperation between the city and
county governments in reducing homelessness
serves as a model. An executive directive by the
mayor or a city council ordinance adopting the
LA SDG framework would add credibility and
weight to such efforts.
• Explore new financing opportunities:
Financial institutions, money managers, investors, and pension funds are exploring how the
SDGs, as a globally vetted and agreed-upon
framework, provide a standard framework for
analyzing environmental, social, and governance
factors. Firms like PIMCO are looking to structure SDG-specific product offerings, and the ratings agency Moody’s recently published an
assessment of the impacts of a Norwegian municipality’s commitment to the SDGs on its future
capital spending and borrowing.
• Provide opportunities for engagement by
residents:
While overall awareness of the SDGs is low,
support for the SDGs by the general public, once
educated, is consistently positive. A recent poll
by the UN Foundation found significant resonance among millennials. Other cities and
municipalities have found the SDGs to be a compelling motivator for citizens and local groups to
contribute toward the city’s well-being.
The commitment made by Mayor Garcetti
places Los Angeles in a leadership role among US
cities taking on the SDGs. It seems unlikely that the
proposed LA SDG framework, once finalized, will
constitute the singular strategy used by the mayor
and city council to define LA’s future. Nevertheless,
the city’s investment in localizing the SDGs provides a comprehensive basis, one that is data-driven
and outcome- focused, that can be a tool for enhancing and expanding solutions to improve the city’s
well- being. The challenge will be to take maximum
advantage.
Tony Pipa is a senior fellow in Global Economy and
Development at the Brookings Institution, where he
researches place-based policies to improve social progress
in the USA and globally, including use of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level. He also
studies the future of US multilateral aid and the applicability of lessons from international development to
improving rural development in the USA. During the
Obama administration, he served as chief strategy officer
and held several other senior policy positions at
USAID. He served as US Special Coordinator for the
Post- 2015 Agenda at the Department of State, leading the
US delegation at the UN to negotiate and adopt the SDGs.
Prior to his government service, he directed the NGO
Leaders Forum at Harvard University and was the founding CEO of the Warner Foundation. He serves on the
board of directors of StriveTogether and the Advisory
Council of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. He
attended Stanford University, graduated from Duke
University, and earned a Master of Public Administration
at the Harvard Kennedy School.
T. Pipa