Naider is collaborating with the Basque Government’s Directorate for Social Innovation on a strategic project that aims to analyse how public policies have evolved and impacted the Basque Country’s performance in relation to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This project aligns with the Basque Country’s recent recognition as one of the European regions selected to spearhead the implementation of the SDGs within the 2030Catalysts initiative, promoted by the European Commission. The programme brings pioneering regions together to share good practices and accelerate the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda throughout Europe. The Basque Country was selected due to its strategic approach and the progress it has already made in sustainable development, thus consolidating its role as an international benchmark.
The project strengthens the Basque Country’s commitment to sustainable development, equipping the Social Innovation Department with the analytical tools needed to inform its decision-making processes. Specifically, the following objectives are pursued:
- Improve the monitoring and evaluation of the Basque Country’s performance against the SDGs.
- Support the Social Innovation Department in its processes around the 2030 Agenda.
- Design and calculate a Global Performance Index (GPI) to allow for concise and comprehensible measurement of the Basque Country’s SDG progress, both individually and collectively.
- Prepare a summary report reflecting the Basque Country’s recent progress in relation to the SDGs.
Naider leads the design and calculation of the Global Performance Index (GPI), a tool that facilitates the interpretation of complex data and contributes to the strategic monitoring of sustainable development in the Basque Country. The work is based on the databases available from both the Basque Government and EUSTAT, which currently include more than 350 indicators, many of them with territorial disaggregation.
The methodology involves the following steps:
- Analysis of the existing database: The potential for using the indicators is analysed at regional and territorial levels (historical territories and municipalities). Currently, 114 indicators are categorised by territory and 65 by municipality.
- Selection of relevant indicators: The most appropriate indicators are selected based on availability, political relevance, and degree of correlation to facilitate coherent analysis of the impact of public policies.
- Integration of collaborative work: Progress made by scientific and university teams collaborating with the Social Innovation Directorate is incorporated into the monitoring process, along with their scenarios and research.
- Construction of synthetic indicators: Composite metrics are developed that extract key information from the base indicators and transform it into aggregate performance values, both globally and for each SDG.
- Calculation and analysis of the GPI: The GPI is calculated for the three Historical Territories and the 251 municipalities, enabling territorial dynamics to be identified and analysed over time.
- Drafting of the results report: A final report is prepared that analyses the results of the work in depth.
The work presented in the final report on the findings will support the Basque Government’s Voluntary Progress Report, which is due to be submitted to the United Nations in 2025.
Illustration: and machines
