Field of goals: Co-production and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in regional and local planning

In collaboration with the municipalities in the project, we have selected which municipal planning processes we will test the methods and framework we are currently developing to apply the sustainable development goals (SDGs). We have an ongoing dialogue with the municipalities to understand the challenges they encounter when translating the SDGs into practice. Before the the regional scenario workshops in Oct 2020, we developed a methodology for assessing the regional relevance of the 169 SDG targets and we have continued to work with 55 targets relevant for local ang regional planning. Bodø municipality has used this methodology to asess relevant SDG targets in the preparation of the municipal land use plan and together with Vestvågøy municipality we have tested out a method for contextualizing the targets through rewriting processes. We have further applied these in participation processes for the city plan for Leknes and Gravdal. This has given us valuable experiences about challenges and opportunities when the SDGs are used in specific planning processes, and we have shared these experiences with the all the municipalities in the project. We continue to work with the municipalities to develop a framework for applying the SDGs in planning, with a focus on the application of the SDGs in different planning processes and plans. We are working on completing four regional scenarios for future planning and these will be tested in the various municipalities in 2022. In the work package where we have summarized historical experiences with sustainable development in Norwegian planning, we have conducted interviews with all the planners involved in the project and we also examined the expectations they have for working with the SDGs and what they need of guidance and assistance. We have discussed these findings with the county municipality and the county governor in the two regions, with the intention of contributing to planning guidance at the regional level, as well as adapting the project so that we meet the expectations of the planners. As part of work package one, we have summarized previous experiences with the development and use of sustainability indicators. The results have been presented and discussed with project partners in a digital webinar on the use of indicators when working with the SDGs in planning. We are working on completing a Norwegian project report as well as a scientific article on these issues. The planners are the target group for the report and we will disseminate the results broadly. In June 2021, the Solberg government presented the national action plan for Norway's work with the SDGs and we are working to analyze what kind of role local and regional planning is intended from the national level. We will follow the further hearing process of the White Paper to assess what kind of management signals are sent to municipalities and county municipalities, as well as how this is followed up in practice. In the work package that deals with planned education, work has begun on mapping how the sustainability goals are included in the teaching at the four educational sites. We have helped to supervise master's students, and in June 2021 a master's thesis on the experiences from Indre Østfold municipality with the SDGs in planning was delivered at NMBU. At the moment, there are two other master's students who are affiliated with project and who write about different municipalities' experiences with the SDGs in planning. We have had and still have a strong focus on communication from the project. To a large extent, we see that municipalities, county municipalities and county governors have a large knowledge need when seeking to apply the SDGs in planning and in their own institution. We have responded positively to all the inquiries we have received so far and use these opportunities to present preliminary findings from the project and discuss experiences so far. This has meant that we have been in contact with municipalities and regions also outside Nordland and Vestland, which is very positive for the project because it gives us a greater overview of what the status of the current work is. We have established a monthly digital meeting place for dissemination from the project and where the various partners meet each other. During the year, we conducted 6 "FOG lunches", where we invited external speakers and we also use the resource persons in the reference group to plan and conduct the webinars. The feedback from the municipalities is that this is very useful, and we plan to continue this work. We have arranged a digital session at the Day Zero during the University of Bergen's annual SDG conference and we have participated in a session during the Fjord Conference 2021. We have contributed to the Norwegian Environment Agency's (NEA) climate podcast, as well as webinars held by the KS, NEA and others, and contributed with a book chapter in environmental planning (published in 2022)

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Fields of goals is a truly interdisciplinary project addressing the urgent call for implementing the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) at the regional and local level. The point of departure is how context-specific dimensions to societies and natural systems, must be at the core when implementing these global standards. The complexity connected to balancing environmental, economic and social values in societal planning, pose several challenges to planners, authorities and businesses. The overall ambition of FOG is to develop a framework for implementing the SDG in local and regional planning. This framework will be based on lessons learned from Local and Regional Agenda A21 and output from workshops and focus groups where relevant SDG goals and targets, will be contextualized with the help of regional scenarios and indicators. The FOG framework will be developed through five interlinked work packages. The project consortium consists of experienced and young scholars, regional and local planning authorities in two Norwegian regions (Nordland and Vestland), four educational institutions, and representatives from the wider society. Through workshops and focus groups, stakeholders and planners will contribute to co-production of knowledge and social learning to the wider community. The project is expected to contribute to the overall objectives of DEMOS by strengthening the concept of sustainable development through co-production of knowledge and social learning across sectors and stakeholder groups, as well as how sustainable development can be aligned with the Planning and Building Act.