Key Message

Assessment linked to policy cycles at national and sub-national scales is proving to be one of the most effective ways of navigating towards sustainable development.

National and Sub-national Scale

The development of reporting processes, assessments and indicators in countries and sub-regions

Our experience shows that most policy-making occurs at national and sub-national levels. Because assessment is an important part of the policy cycle, it is important that it takes place at the level where policy is being made. One of the drivers for integrating assessment into policy processes has been national-level legislated instruments, such as Sustainable Development Strategies or Acts related to national audit institutions and processes. The latter has been the case in Canada, where the Commissioner for Sustainable Development requires each federal department to report annually on progress towards sustainable development. Multilateral agreements are another type of driver that provides nations with incentives to measure their performance to ascertain compliance with the agreement.

The locus of leadership on measurement and assessment depends on how power is devolved within a country. In some federal states, for example, where sub-national political entities have their own parliaments and legislation, there are often separate assessment processes. This is observed in Canada, the U.S., Australia, Germany and Mexico, to name a few.

Examples of national and sub-national assessment processes in Canada:

Examples from Canadian provinces:

Further information about national level assessment is also available from:

While our program has a strong Canadian focus, IISD is actively involved in international projects, particularly with developing and transitional countries. Some of our partnerships, such as the one with the Government of Manitoba, date back more than a decade, with an emphasis on collaborating with partners on designing reporting processes, assessments and indicators.

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