Page 7 - U4SSC Factsheet, Mashhad, Iran (Islamic Republic of), September 2021

Executive Summary

The United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) has developed a set of international key performance
indicators (KPIs) for Smart Sustainable Cities (SSC) to establish the criteria to evaluate information and
communication technologies’ contributions in making cities smarter and more sustainable, and to provide
cities with the means for self-assessments to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In 2021,
Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran agreed to implement and report on the U4SSC KPIs. This factsheet
documents the Mashhad KPI project.
• The factsheet starts by introducing the U4SSC initiative within the context of digitalization and
the importance of the standardization of data in fostering smart sustainable city transitions.
• This is followed by an overview of Mashhad’s framework for implementing projects to become
smarter and more sustainable (‘The Mashhad Initiative’) and a profile of the city.
• Next is the explanation and result of the U4SSC KPI benchmarking process.
• The subsequent sections review the data collected under the three U4SSC dimensions (Economy,
Environment, and Society and Culture) providing a picture of Mashhad’s efforts in each of these
areas.
• The final section contains the key findings and conclusions based on an analysis the KPI data,
the Mashhad Initiative and the KPI benchmarks.
• The factsheet also outlines the current projects within the Mashhad Initiative in the report
appendix.
The knowledge gained through Mashhad’s experience will continue to be an important part of ongoing
efforts to make using the KPIs an even more effective method to measure progress and provide guidance
to cities on their journey towards becoming smarter and more sustainable.
Mashhad’s collection and reporting of data in accordance with the KPIs, and the verification process
undertaken, are summarized in the following table.
Total Reported Verified % KPIs Verified

Economy
Core KPIs 23 22 22 96 %
Advanced KPIs 22 18 18 82 %
Environment

Core KPIs 12 11 11 92 %
Advanced KPIs 5 5 5 100 %

Society & Culture
Core KPIs 19 16 16 84 %
Advanced KPIs 10 8 8 80 %

Overall
Core KPIs 54 49 49 91 %

Advanced KPIs 37 31 31 84 %
Total 91 80 80 88 %

U4SCC Factsheet | Mashhad, Iran (Islamic Republic of) | September 2021 1