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Evaluation of sustainable development strategies and policies: The need for more timely indicators

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  • Jari Lyytimäki

Abstract

Indicators are commonly used as tools to identify and highlight socio‐economic and ecological trends and to assess progress towards sustainability. Different quality criteria can be considered for indicators. This paper focuses on the timeliness of indicators used in the evaluation of sustainable development strategies. The analysis is based on indicators included in four assessment reports of the sustainable development strategy of the European Union and three assessment reports of the national strategy of Finland. Furthermore, a web‐based national level indicator portal is analysed. The results show that the timeliness of indicators has generally not improved during the past decade and that indicators used in strategy evaluations have a time lag of approximately two years. It is suggested that more attention should be given to efforts to improve the timeliness of indicators in order to increase the effectiveness of the evaluations. More generally, it is suggested that greater emphasis should be put on the empirical research on actual use of indicators.

Suggested Citation

  • Jari Lyytimäki, 2012. "Evaluation of sustainable development strategies and policies: The need for more timely indicators," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(2), pages 101-108, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:natres:v:36:y:2012:i:2:p:101-108
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1477-8947.2012.01447.x
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    4. Laure Ledoux & Roeland Mertens & Pascal Wolff, 2005. "EU sustainable development indicators: An overview," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(4), pages 392-403, November.
    5. Reinhard Steurer & Gerald Berger & Markus Hametner, 2010. "The vertical integration of Lisbon and sustainable development strategies across the EU: How different governance architectures shape the European coherence of policy documents," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 34(1), pages 71-84, February.
    6. Joachim H. Spangenberg, 2009. "Sustainable development indicators: towards integrated systems as a tool for managing and monitoring a complex transition," International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(4), pages 318-337.
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