Factors Facilitating the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Regional and Local Planning—Experiences from Norway

Kjersti Granås Bardal, Mathias Brynildsen Reinar, Aase Kristine Lundberg and Maiken Bjørkan
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Kjersti Granås Bardal: Nordland Research Institute, N-8049 Bodø, Norway
Mathias Brynildsen Reinar: Nordland Research Institute, N-8049 Bodø, Norway
Aase Kristine Lundberg: Nordland Research Institute, N-8049 Bodø, Norway
Maiken Bjørkan: Nordland Research Institute, N-8049 Bodø, Norway

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-19

Abstract: Successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depends on regional and local authorities’ ability to implement the goals in their respective contexts. Through a survey and interviews with informants in Norwegian municipalities and county councils, this paper explores and offers new empirical insight into (1) which factors can be identified as facilitating the implementation of the SDGs in Norwegian local and regional planning; (2) how the facilitating factors are conditioned by the different local and regional institutional contexts; and (3) how these factors from the Norwegian context correspond or differ from those in the international literature. We find that the existing Planning and Building Act is considered a suitable framework for the implementation of the SDGs in the Norwegian context, and that the SDGs are high on the national and regional governmental agendas. However, work remains in integrating the SDGs into underlying governmental activities. They must be incorporated into action plans and planning tools, which will require involvement, collaboration and development work across sectors and authority levels, and the development of guidelines for how this can be done. Allocating enough resources for this work will be crucial, and smaller municipalities may need other types and degrees of support than larger ones.

Keywords: sustainable development goals; facilitating factors; implementation; regional and local planning; Norway (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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