Page 11 - U4SSC KPIs Verification Manual - A guide for verifiers

1 Introduction

The U4SSC Key Performance Indicators for Smart Sustainable Cities have been developed to
provide cities with a consistent and standardized method to collect data and measure performance
and progress of:

• achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

• becoming a smarter city; and
• becoming a more sustainable city.

The indicators enable cities to measure their progress over time, compare their performance to
other cities and, through analysis and sharing, allow for the dissemination of best practices and
set standards for progress in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the city level.

Each indicator forms a part of a holistic view of a city’s performance in three dimensions, Economy,
Environment, and Society and Culture. Each of these dimensions provides a separate view of
progress and, when reported together, they provide a holistic view of a smart sustainable city.

Within each dimension, there are sub-dimensions that focus on more specific areas of performance
and progress. An example is the ICT Infrastructure sub-dimension, which provides a more in-depth
view of how ICTs are deployed and used within a city.

The indicators are further sub-divided into core and advanced indicators. Core indicators should
be capable of being reported on by all cities. They provide a basic outline of smartness and
sustainability; and generally, higher performance levels can be achievable. Advanced indicators
provide a more in-depth view of a city and measure progress on more advanced initiatives; however,
they may be beyond the current capabilities of some cities to report or implement.

Each indicator has been chosen through a process of review and input by ITU members, as well
as international experts and UN agencies, programmes and secretariats, to ensure that the data
collected support the SDGs, and are relevant to measuring progress towards becoming smarter
and more sustainable.

To ensure that cities are more easily able to collect data and that reported indicator values are
consistent, each indicator has a description for:

• the rationale for choosing the indicator;

• how the indicator should be interpreted;

• what benchmarking trends are considered desirable;
• the methodology for calculating the value to be reported; and

• potential sources of data.

U4SSC KPIs Verification Manual-A guide for verifiers 1