Sustainable development goals in public administrations: Enabling conditions in local governments
| Published date | 01 December 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208523221146458 |
| Author | Marco Bisogno,Beatriz Cuadrado-Ballesteros,Francesca Manes Rossi,Noemi Peña-Miguel |
| Date | 01 December 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Sustainable development
goals in public
administrations: Enabling
conditions in local
governments
Marco Bisogno
University of Salerno, Italy
Beatriz Cuadrado-Ballesteros
University of Salamanca, Spain
Francesca Manes Rossi
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Noemi Peña-Miguel
University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain
Abstract
Sustainable Develop ment Goals (SDGs) are a cha llenge that many publ ic administra-
tions face in promoting su stainable growth. Loca l governments, as the g overnmental
tier closest to citizens, should deliberate upon strategies and actions attuned to achiev-
ing SDGs for the benefit of their com munities. Through a comparative an alysis of
Italian and Spanish l ocal governments, thi s research investigates th e conditions that
can support the ac hievement of SDGs. Th e results depict th e political and financial
levers that can stimul ate politicians and policymakers in designing approp riate strat-
egies and action plan s towards the achievemen t of SDGs, while openi ng the path for
further research that ca n support public a dministrations in t heir efforts at achiev ing
sustainable growth.
Corresponding author:
Marco Bisogno, Department of Management & InnovationSystems, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II,
no. 132, Fisciano, SA 84084, Italy.
Email: mbisogno@unisa.it
Article
International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
International Review of Administrative
Sciences
2023, Vol. 89(4) 1223–1242
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00208523221146458
journals.sagepub.com/home/ras
Points for practitioners
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are believed to play a vital role in our society.
They represent the background of strategies and policies implemented at a local govern-
ment level; accordingly, politicians and public managers are key actors in achieving SDGs.
Our study shows that local governments tend to implement sustainable policies despite
the political ideology; results also illustrate that governing in large coalitions could be a
hindrance to implementing sustainable policies. Furthermore, favourable financial condi-
tions support the achievement of SDGs.
Keywords
Sustainable Development Goals, local governments, comparative analysis
Introduction
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were the biggest challenge launched by the
United Nations (UN) in 2015. These goals are at the core of recent debates in the
public administration (PA) literature and bring new meaning to the development of
administrative capacity (Haque et al., 2021a; Santoro, 2019). Among all PAs, local gov-
ernments (LGs) are those closest to citizens and thus play an important role in governing
territories and communities in accordance with the principles of sustainable growth
(Guarini et al., 2022; UCLG-CIB, 2018).
Most of the studies published so far have provided theoretical reflections on this matter
(Guarini et al., 2021), with only a few empirical studies addressing this issue
(Abhayawansa et al., 2021; Filho et al., 2016), focusing on the conditions that can affect
SDG implementation in LGs (Guarini et al., 2022). The present research intends to address
this gap through a manifoldc ontribution.Firs t,it of fersa brand-new picture of the achievement
of SDGs at the LG level in two European countries, Italy and Spain, and answers the call for
comparative studies on PAs (Haque et al., 2021b). Second,i tinvestigates the five critical areas
of SDGs (People,Peace,Prosperi ty,Partnership,andPlanet) for two years (2018 and 2020)
to examine the progress achieved. Third, the empirics unveil some key factors that can facili-
tate the achievement of SDGs in LGs, providing the ground for further reflections, also for
practitioners and policymakers.
Considering that SDGs tend to represent the background upon which strategies and
policies are built, the role of politicians and public managers is expected to be crucial
for the implementation of sustainable initiatives (Guarini et al., 2021, 2022).
Therefore, political factors will be tested in conjunction with variables expressing the
financial conditions of these LGs, due to the relevance of the financial support offered
by higher levels of government (Amundsen et al., 2010).
The results allow us to highlight those SDGs upon which LGs are more focused and
some of the conditions that can facilitate their achievement. In doing so, this study
enhances our empirical understanding of how certain LGs are achieving SDGs,
thereby opening the path for further comparative research.
1224 International Review of Administrative Sciences 89(4)
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