Monitoring, Reporting and Review Mechanisms for the New Urban Agenda

Monitoring, reporting and review mechanisms (MRRM) are essential to supporting the implementation of international agreements. Such mechanisms are particularly important in the context of non-binding agreements. Strong MRRM can, moreover, guide decision-making and strengthen an agreement´s inclusiveness, legitimacy, and accountability.

Against this backdrop, adelphi conducted a broad and in-depth assessment of potential monitoring, reporting and review mechanisms for the New Urban Agenda. This Agenda was adopted by member states at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016. In particular, adelphi analysed:

1. Key requirements for effective monitoring, reporting and review mechanisms for the New Urban Agenda
2. Relevant existing monitoring, reporting, and review mechanisms (including both mechanisms of international agreements such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and mechanisms employed by non-state actors, such as the World Council on City Data), and lessons learned
3. Recommendations for the New Urban Agenda.

The results of this analysis were discussed with experts at various events.

adelphi´s work in this project built upon two previous projects on the same topic: "Monitoring, review and support mechanisms for the New Urban Agenda" and "Sustainability in urban areas – exploring opportunities for the New Urban Agenda". In the context of these two projects, adelphi prepared brief input papers on MRRM for expert workshops in Brussels and New York.