Indicator systems for municipal sustainable development governance: Prerequisites for design and implementation

The theoretical basis of indicator system (IS) elaboration for sustainable development governance (SDG) has been step-wise developing, but is still insufficiently linked with both the theory and especially the practice of municipal governance system and process. The research has been completed about SDG IS elaboration, design and construction for the governance process of municipal territorial development. The set of complementary prerequisites for building IS has been established, including further development of the key concepts for the integrativity of SDG indicators, relationships between sustainability dimensions (particularly including governance and communication dimension), and horizontal and vertical integration approaches. Concepts have been tested and applied, including a full-scale application of SDG IS at the Saulkrasti local municipality in Latvia, while a Sustainable Development Strategy, as the mandatory long-term planning document, was elaborated within related municipal participatory process. Theoretical and practical recommendations have been produced and disseminated. Demo examples of testing various thematic IS and legal full-scale implementation of the first municipal practice case of SDG IS in Latvia has attracted interest, even though such IS implementation requires complex and sizeable resources.