Local and regional governments can make an important contribution to global monitoring and reporting on the SDGs by complementing national reports with information on progress in metropolitan areas, intermediary cities and rural areas. This will be particularly significant in the case of SDG 11 on sustainable cities and human settlements, but also applies across all 17 SDGs as 65% of SDG targets are the direct responsibility of local and regional governments. National reporting can obscure differences between regions and within cities and can fail to take into account differing challenges in urban and rural contexts. UCLG will be contributing to global monitoring and reporting processes with the support of its three observatories: the Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD), set up in 2005, the International Observatory on Participatory Democracy (OIDP), and the new Global Observatory on Local Finance. The fifth GOLD report, planned for 2019, will focus on the localization of the 2030 Agenda. The Global
35 UCLG RETREAT AND CAMPUS 2017
Observatory on Local Finance has published "Subnational Governments Around the World", an analysis of the state of financial and political decentralization in 101 countries, and is planning to integrate this expertise in UCLG’s global monitoring and reporting strategy. The session on Observatories aimed to provide UCLG Sections, Observatories and Committees with a space to take part in this conversation and present their own contributions, roadmaps and expectations as the organization as a whole enters a new strategic phase. Sections, members and partners were invited to contribute to define the methods, resources and a timeline for the development of monitoring and reporting. Cities and partners will cooperate in an effort to develop localized indicators, consistent with those established in the international community. These indicators should provide insight on the strengths and features of each context, complementing the work done by national governments and UN agencies.