We are happy to announce that the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Gdansk is becoming a recognised and increasingly recognised entity, both locally and internationally, as evidenced by the involvement of CZRUG experts in the development of policies and strategies related to the implementation of Agenda 2030 goals and local strategies.

As an expert institution, our Centre has been involved in the preparation and implementation of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) pilot project “REGIONS2030: Monitoring the SDGs in EU regions – filling the data gaps” supported by the European Parliament. The project involved 10 regions from different parts of Europe (Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and Poland represented by the Pomeranian Voivodeship). The leader of the Polish part of the project was the Marshal’s Office of Pomorskie Voivodeship.

The European Commission has highlighted the key role of regions in localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and regions with a strong ambition to monitor the implementation of the SDGs and an interest in exploring the synergies of SDG monitoring, policy-making and sustainable regional development were selected for the pilot.

The expert drafting the report for the Pomeranian Voivodeship was Sylwia Mrozowska, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG, Vice-Rector for Cooperation and Development, UG. Also involved in the creation of the report were the employees of the UG Centre for Sustainable Development: Krzysztof Szczepaniak, PhD (Director), Barbara Kijewska, PhD, Jolanta Mrozek-Kwiatkowska and PhD student Bartosz Duraj. CZRUG was supported in the analysis of the state of implementation of sustainable development goals in the region by practitioners – the Director of the Statistical Office in Gdańsk, Jerzy Auksztol, PhD, and Iwona Borkowska together with the team from the Department of Regional and Local Development of the Marshal’s Office of Pomorskie Voivodeship.

The outcome of the project is the definition of a set of indicators for the participating EU regions to monitor the implementation of the SDGs, which should ultimately translate into monitoring indicators across the EU. The result of the work of experts in Pomorskie includes the identification of indicators that require an individualised approach in the region and proposals for monitoring additional indicators. The report also includes recommendations for future actions taking into account the assumptions of Agenda 2030 and the Pomorskie Voivodeship Development Strategy 2030.

The report is available on line: JRC Publications Repository – Monitoring the SDGs in Pomorskie region, Poland (europa.eu)

The Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Gdansk also invites employees of our university to collaborate on further research projects and ventures.