• Track 01
• SDGs

The province of Manabí, Ecuador, has developed a methodology to objectively evaluate how effectively public policies contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The approach gives greater importance to efforts made in areas where development challenges are most significant, helping to prioritize action where it is needed most.

Linking Public Investment to the SDGs

The methodology uses a multi-criteria matrix, validated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to link every item in the province’s Annual Operating Plan (POA) and Territorial Development Plan (PDOT) to the 169 targets of the 2030 Agenda.

The contribution of each action is calculated by comparing the resources actually spent on that action with the total budget required for its completion. This ensures that the assessment reflects real financial implementation rather than planned activities alone.

Prioritizing Areas with the Greatest Development Gaps

Actions are grouped into five core dimensions:

• Social Cohesion and Equity
• Environmental Sustainability and Resilience
• Urban Economy and Municipal Finance
• Infrastructure Development
• Planning and Urban/Territorial Governance

For each dimension, a development gap is calculated using the Territorial Prosperity Index (IPT) developed with UN-Habitat.

The larger the development gap, the greater the statistical weight assigned to that dimension. As a result, areas facing the greatest challenges receive the highest priority in the overall assessment.

Each SDG is mapped to one of the five dimensions, with the dimension’s weight distributed across its corresponding goals.

Tracking Progress Through Data

To support transparency, the results are presented through an interactive Power BI dashboard and a geo-referenced map that shows the location of sustainable development practices across the province.

The methodology has also been institutionalized as a Provincial State Policy through Manabí’s mandatory planning framework. This has enabled the province to standardize its Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) and facilitate comparative analysis with other subnational governments.

Built for the Local Context

Several elements of the methodology are closely linked to the administrative and legal framework of Manabí and Ecuador.

The approach integrates local planning instruments, including the Annual Operating Plan (POA) for annual budgeting and the Territorial Development Plan (PDOT) for long-term strategic planning. It also reflects the exclusive competencies of Ecuador’s provincial governments and uses data available within the country.

A Methodology with Broader Application

While the methodology is designed for Manabí’s institutional context, its core principles can be applied more widely.

Its approach of linking individual budget items directly to SDG targets through a validated alignment matrix provides a structured way to connect public spending with sustainable development outcomes. Likewise, weighting results according to development gaps offers a practical method for prioritizing resources based on need.

By combining these weighted contributions into a single multi-criteria index, such as the ICA2030, subnational governments can produce standardized and comparable assessments of their contribution to the 2030 Agenda.