Questions/Answers

The UAE SDG data hub preliminary aim to disseminate Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) data and establish a seamless integration with United Nations (UN) Federated Information System for the SDGs (FIS4SDGs). It advocates open data principles, public-private partnerships and providing an effective educational tool to the public on SDGs. Governments everywhere are being challenged to act to address sustainability issues. In the UAE, we are doing this through telling stories and sharing data & initiatives to advance sustainable development. The UAE SDG data hub main objectives: 1. Report, track and monitor progress towards the SDGs to the UAE cabinet and UN in an elegant, sustainable manner 2. Create societal awareness on SDGs and national efforts to achieve them. 3. Create a whole-of-society action by engaging the society and calling for their action 4. Creating a two-way channel with the society to understand their behaviors and perception on SDG related topics that will help direct policies and activities. 5. Share UAE SDG practices with the international audience 6. Delivering a decision support tools to stakeholders FCSC became the secretariat of UAE national committee on SDGs in January 2017, tasked to identify a groundbreaking global initiative that led to the establishment of an international private-public partnership with Esri Global Inc. and indirectly, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The partnerships identified the scope and stakeholders of the SDG Data Hub. We, in collaboration with our stakeholders and Esri, developed content to connect to the Federated Information System for SDGs, also known as FIS4SDGs. The FIS4SDGs is a centralized portal to track and monitor progress towards the SDGs to the UN. With the SDG Data Hub, the UAE aim to position itself as an innovative country that not only track and monitor progress toward the Global Goals, but also create awareness and engage the whole-of-society.

The Hub centralizes vast amounts of information, from public and private sectors, policy makers need to make informed decisions related to sustainability and provides a bird’s eye view of sustainability in UAE. A platform to the whole-of-society, eliminating traditional means of tracking and monitoring progress into one platform where the system is linked to national ministerial systems, the data is synchronized with UNFIS4SDG. The Hub has four main elements; 1. Open-data on SDG indicators 2. SDG related Data Stories 3. Initiatives – a pioneering element, sharing best practices/policies from the UAE with the global audience 4. Related Media.

17.16this is complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, and financial resources, to support the achievement of the SDGs globally, in particular developing countries.17.17Encourage effective public/private/civil society partnerships.17.19build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries.The Hub focuses on various SDGs and targets. We chose to focus on SDG17.17.16The Hub is an international collaboration with Esri-Global-Inc. and UNDESA complemented by public-private-sector partnerships contributing to the knowledge-sharing platform of best-practices in the UAE for the global community.The cost-effective hub, built on Esri ArcGIS-Platform, uses web GIS principles allowing data connections from multiple sources and organizations without having to re-implement or import data content.17.17The Hub serve as a 2-way channel-centralized platform to create awareness and engage whole-of-society.It presents multiple stakeholder partnerships to spread awareness and engage the whole of society whilst encouraging other partners to contribute to the Hub.17.19The Hub promotes national initiatives on SDGs and obtain societal feedback to further develop according to societal needs.It elevated participants’ knowledge, GIS experience and data sharing. It supports monitoring, tracking and reporting structure within the UAE to the cabinet and the UN with SDG indicators at National and emirate level

The Hub has a clear roadmap for future and sustainable development, and impact with the number of active partners growing from 11 to 100 by 2030. It allows for national and global system-to-system approach that contributes to an environmental friendly way of tracking progress towards the SDGs saving money & human resources. The partnership model further assist us in cutting costs across the UAE as traditional means of tracking and monitoring progress along the SDGs would have been a huge amount. Lastly, a centralized platform that encourage the whole-of-society to adopt sustainable practices in an easy to visualize manner.

The hub implementation challenges included lack of granular data, where SDG indicators were calculated only on the national level. The Hub addressed availing indicators on sub-national level. Statistical challenges about the indicators calculations methodology was addressed through experts workgroup discussions from different ministries. To publish indicators data, and initiatives details discussions with stakeholders had encouraged SME to promote data openness allowing us to publish SDG indicators and link it to UN FIS4SDGs. The Hub centralizes various initiatives and data stories into one platform allowing various partners across private and public sectors, NGO’s, youth and academia to take part in showcasing their best practices. The hub furthers the publics knowledge about key initiatives within the UAE, for example the waste management centers and also inviting the private sector to contribute to promoting marine life by sponsoring artificial caves that enhance the rehabilitation of corals reefs within the Arabian gulf. One of the hub objectives is to establish a 2-ways communication channel with citizens: by getting their feedback through surveys and social media on certain initiatives/projects/topics. This helps stakeholders and partners understand and incorporate various citizens’ perceptions and preferences in order to further customize and develop initiatives/projects to fit citizens’ needs.

Based on the direction of our leaderships and the UAE Gender Balance Council, gender equality play a major role in innovative projects such as the HubThe Hub is led by a female GIS expert with a mostly young woman who aspires to become GIS specialists whilst transferring knowledge and sharing her passion.Furthermore, the team works with other stakeholders who has a balanced representation between Emirati women and men,as well as expatriate women and men. On the public level, the 2-ways communication channel established with citizens through the Hub surveys and social media, considers citizens view equally regardless the gender.

The target audience was predominantly the public and private sector as well as the international audience to increase awareness, change societal behavior, engage to fulfill a whole-of-society approach as well as share best practices through the data stories and initiatives. The UAE introduced the ‘initiatives’ element into the SDG hub. This was the main focus on creating a ripple effect in the market and it gained great traction. Since we have connected this element to UNDESA in February 2019, Ireland has added initiatives components to their SDG hub, while various other countries are now looking on how to add initiative/projects to their hubs. Other main outcomes were an increase of sustainable behaviors within the UAE community. For example the ‘integrated waste management’ initiative encourage members of the society to recycle, by spreading environmental awareness and encouraging the community to follow best practices in the field of waste management, and informing the community of the locations of the waste management centers.

The UAE used a specific methodology to implement the Hub, 1. Identifying a groundbreaking global initiative(October 2017): Determine the best possible avenue to report and monitor progress made towards the SDGs, the secretariat consulted with the members of the National Committee on SDGs and resulted into identifying the collaboration between UNDESA and Esri as a state-of-the-art initiative 2. Establishing a global partnership(February 2018): The secretariat signed a (MOU) with Esri Global Inc. to officially become part of Phase2 of the FIS4SDGs project. 3. Identifying the scope(June to July 2018): Evaluation of data readiness, granularity, geo-spatial readiness, and openness to report to the UNSD. Identify SDG related data stories & initiatives from national stakeholders. 4. Identifying initial phase partners in the UAE(August 2018): Identifying stakeholders in UAE according to their data assessment results in previous point , current projects and initiatives that could feed the data stories and the initiatives elements of the SDG Data Hub. 5. Developing SDG Data Hub Content(September 2018 onwards): The technical implementation of the hub including launching the web-solution and a two-fold approach to technically implement the hub content includes : 1. SDG Indicators Geospatial Data 2. SDG related initiatives.The initiatives module- a first of its kind in the world – is an introduction to goal specific initiatives within the UAE and at the international front. 6. Connecting the SDG Data Hub to the FIS4SDGs (February 2019): Initially, 8 indicators and 4 data stories were connected from UAE SDG Data Hub to FIS4SDGs on the ArcGIS hub platform. The UAE has also become the region pioneer in connecting data to the FIS4SDGs. FCSC use a metrics to evaluate the Hub: Number of entities, 11 so far, Content directly to the UNSD :5initiatives,20 indicators,4 data stories, 37 indicators, 11 data stories, Contributions in international awards & conferences:+20

• Granular Data:Lack of granular data, SDG indicators were calculated only on national level. The Hub availed indicators on sub-national level to support planning. • Reporting/tracking progress made to the cabinet and UN • Open data:Publishing indicators data, and initiatives details promoted data openness allowing stakeholders, SMEs, Private sector to better discuss&plan SDG national implementations. Publishing on UN FIS4SDGs for the global implementation. • Attracting Partners:to take part in the Hub, presented in + 10 international events, were nominated by global organizations as a best practice. Workshops took place with key stakeholders to enhance the process of overcoming challenges. • Technology challenges were addressed by Esri,UNDESA, & national teams to connect national and global systems.

Technology and data-for-Good • inter-governmental collaborative data platform connected to global UNFIS4SDGs • Promoting Government-Information-Sharing • Open data availed in many format • Adding geospatial intelligence helps data analytics Igniting a-whole-of-society approach,Engaging the public by o Increasing their SDGs awareness o Keep them informed on SDG efforts o Calling for their action(guiding them to use recycling centers, responsibility towards protected areas, fill surveys) o Understanding community attitude/response through surveys • Motivate private-public entities to showcase their efforts that address SDGs Joining Hands for a Better World; showcasing the output of the partnership model with government-entities, UNDESA, private-sectors and Esri with call for societal engagement on one-page

The Hub is recognized by UN, Esri and SDGsociety as a best practice. An award winning platform, recognized by Esri as a special achievement in the GIS-field with +20participations in conferences, published papers and award nominations. Upon introducing the initiatives component in February 2019, UNDESA and Esri has promoted using UAE Data hub. Now, Ireland has added initiatives components to their SDG hub, while various other countries are now looking on how to add initiative/projects to their hubs. Moreover Private sector are submitting to FCSC their initiatives which will be introduced shortly on the Hub. Many ministries have also submitted their initiatives to showcase & promote their SDG work on the hub.

The UAE SDG Data Hub is built on ArcGIS hub and takes advantage of the web-GIS principles allowing us to connect data from multiple sources and organizations through establishing the system-to-system structure. ‘Initiative Websites templates’ within the ArcGIS Hub, provided various tools and products that were incorporated into the Hub. The tools, incl. story maps, survey123 web forms, operation dashboards, web maps, and open data capabilities, enriched the user experience with data searches, download options in different formats, to share with technical and target audiences. Adding geospatial intelligence helps data analytics to overlay different datasets to better understand the challenges and address it. Also, it’s easier for people to comprehend it.

Yes, the Hub is easy transferable. The initiatives element address the lack of knowledge through creating SDG awareness, engaging the visitor and inspiring change to the global community through best practices in the UAE that allows for the fundamental challenge of reporting and monitoring national progress along the SDGs to the UAE cabinet and the United Nations. Since we’ve connected our hub to the FIS4SDGs, the UNDESA encouraged member states to adopt the Initiatives-element into their data hubs. The initiatives element, which the UAE is the pioneer for, brings together different best practices around the world to increase awareness and inspire engagement with the SDGs. This will further country collaboration – for instance - Ireland started adding initiatives into their hub with many others looking into having their best practices showcased on their respective hubs.

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Esri Global Inc. technical support in building the infrastructure saves the UAE government approx. 500,000AED (136,000USD). (Esri is the technical sponsor) Human resources included a number of Esri, FCSC employees & national entities working on the design and implementation of the Hub whilst ensuring a system-to-system approach and calculating SDG indicators. The Hub saved costs and human resources through the smart solution, avoiding traditional means of tracking and monitoring progress, and human resources, saving time and money connecting system-to-system avoiding duplication of work. The hub increased societal awareness, established a two-way communication model with civil society, and provided a platform that support policy and decision makers with data at emirate level. a. Please explain what makes the initiative sustainable over time, in financial and institutional terms. (131/100 words maximum) With many public/private organizations contacting the FCSC to become part of the Hub, it has the ambition of growing from 11 to 100 active partners by 2030, allowing for a bigger number of best practices on a centralized platform whilst capitalizing on Esri as technical support. This model helps with: 1. Increase societal attitude to a more sustainable one 2. Implementing a smart cost effective solution that save national resources 3. Establish a two-way communication channel with public 4. Provide decision support tool to stakeholders, decision makers providing them with the necessary data in a timely manner. 5. Building national capacities to use the GIS web-based technology. 6. A knowledge-practices sharing hub by informing the international audience about UAE national practices and encourage them to replicate for a better whole-of-society engagement

The hub partnership model is innovative and sustainable, as it is based on a collaboration between the public and private sector. It contributes to the economical sphere that provides a competitive advantage over our fellow member states as the UAE pioneered the initiatives element.It can easily be replicated in other countries to ensure each member state achieve the SDGs in a fashionable/sustainable manner. The model further assist us in cutting-costs across the UAE as traditional means of tracking and monitoring progress along the SDGs would have been a huge amount.But costs aren’t the only economical impact, we are also saving resources through a centralize platform which allows for effective time management across the model and enabling different platforms to ‘talk’ to eachother.In addition, we use an eco-friendly route to market approach by promoting the hub and it initiatives by using social media platforms.

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Internally through Hub Project Metrics o Externally by International Awards. o P3 Concordia Award 2019: Nominated as A semi Finalist in P3 o Ideas UK Innovation Award 33rd - 2019 : Won 2 awards: • Special judges award- Simon Hill . Justification for the judge Simon hill -a global top crowd sourcing influencer and innovation leader- that “this is the most innovative project for the fact that it’s telling stories and spreading positivity among the world through a central place where everyone can access it”. • 2nd place in Sustainability Category o EGI –GISWorx Award 2020 o Esri special achievement in GIS Award (SAG) 2020 o UN SDG in Action Award 2020 – awaiting the results

Evaluation Parameter shared by IdeasUK includes o Economic viability - Level of cost-benefit / competitive advantage o Applicability - Level of transferability / ease of use o Level of innovation/newness o P3 Concordia Evaluation indicators includes : o partnership structure ; o future impact o Scalability o ;metrics - Esri special achievement in GIS Award (SAG) Evaluation indicators includes : Esri selects nominations of outstanding projects/platforms from around the world and evaluated that utilizes the latest technology to serve community needs efficently. the organization was one of 180 chosen from more than 100,000 Esri clients worldwide. o EGI – GISWorx award scores on o Clear business objectives o System infrastructure o Productivity, scalability and user satisfaction o Usage of latest technology o FCSC internal Metrics o Number of entities, contributing : 11 so far o Content directly to the UNSD : 5 initiatives, 8 indicators, 4 data stories o Content on Hub: 14 initiatives, 37 indicators, 11 datastories o Completed surveys: 14 surveys o Contributions in international awards & conferences : +20 o Number of Hub and each initiative viewers exceeded 38,800 viewer

o Ideas UK Special judges award o Simon Hill . Justification for the judge Simon hill -a global top crowd sourcing influencer and innovation leader- that “this is the most innovative project for the fact that it’s telling stories and spreading positivity among the world through a central place where everyone can access it”. o P3 Concordia Evaluation : o The partnership structure section provides minimal breakdown explanation and does not include strong descriptions of operation or governance. o The executive summary is very clear in defining the partnership and its importance, however it does not clearly explain how it plans to achieve the long term goals. o The future impact and scalability allows for other countries to use the model to measure their SDG goals. o Strong metrics are used which allow for a consistent and comparable measurement for future reference and bench-marking. o EGI – GISWorx award scores on : o Clear business objectives o System infrastructure o Productivity, scalability and user satisfaction o Usage of latest technology o Esri SAG Award: o Outstanding users globally o Demonstrate a powerful use of latest geospatial technology o Use the technology to address a public cause or community challenge Other details on evaluation process were not availed

The UAE cabinet has established a national committee on SDGs in January 2017 with FCSC being the secretariat of the committee. The FCSC has mandate to report, track and monitor progress along the SDGs to cabinet and the UN and to create whole-of-society awareness around the SDGs. The committee consist of 16 federal level entities (including Ministry of Cabinet and the Future, Ministry of Education and the UAE Gender Balance Council). The committee also has a private sector advisory council (companies with a well-defined and mature sustainable development plan that can be adopted by other companies), youth advisory council and connections to NGOs, academia and research institutions, to successfully implement the SDGs at the national level and support the international audience with their implementations. Our partnership model is innovative, as it is based on the collaboration between the public-private sector, academia, NGOs, youth, society and the United Nations. The FCSC facilitates the Hub and partnerships across the model on a horizontal line. The model contributes to the economic sphere that provides a competitive advantage over fellow member states. The model can easily be adopted by other countries to inspire each member state to achieve the SDGs in a sustainable manner.

The UAE data hub is a great practice of Goal 17- partnership for the goals. The main partner of the initiative is Esri Global Inc. To establish the UAE data hub and to be part of this global project, FCSC in its capacity as federal statistical entity and since it serves as the Secretariat to the UAE National Committee on SDGs (NCSDGs) established different partnerships with partners from the public and private sector. Partnership with Esri By signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between FCSC and Esri to become part of the FIS4SDGs pilot project and start the joint work. Esri role includes: • Conducting SDG workshops and technical GIS workshops to FCSC & partners to build capacities • Donating software licenses & hardware • Supporting FCSC technically to implement of data hub and link to FIS4SDGs • Joint promotion of activities at various conferences & events Partnership with NCSDGs FCSC in collaboration with selected NCSDGs members (phase1) collected a number of SDGs indicators per emirate, datastories and initiatives published on the hub and connected to UN FIS4SDGs. Example of phase1 partners: Ministry of Climate Change&Environment ; Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Partnership with the UNSD UNSD role included: • Initiated FIS4SDGs pilot project supported by Esri and invited 15 countries to be part of it. UAE was one. • Implementing the global FIS4SDGs • Supporting countries to launch their national data hubs and showcasing UAE data hub as a best practice • Adding on the FIS4SDGs links to ready data hubs and data stories • Working with Ireland then UAE to connect their SDG data seamlessly with FIS4SDGs – System to System.

Studying the methodologies of SDG indicators calculation was an interesting exercise that helped assign each indicator to responsible entities and highlighted how some indicators are cross cutting multiple sectors which requires collaborative work between governmental entities. As a result: o SDG Indicators metadata and assessment exercise was done to analyze each indicator variable and methodology independently o SDG Race workshops were conducted with the NCSDGs to assess data availability/readiness/openness of each indicator and calculation plan which will in turn support the SDG implementation. o Changes on the application design of SDGs indicators raw data collection solution took place for efficient results. From technology perspective, the project was a pioneering practice on connecting governmental GIS system together then to UNSD FIS4SDGs. The practice inspired participating entities of how this can be used for various purposes. Moreover participating team earned great knowledge on GIS & Web-based solutions. Publishing initiatives and data stories, showed us how the public society are eager to learn more about SDGs and passionate to participate. Upon this, children awareness campaign on SDGs started, spreading knowledge and inspiring the future leaders on SDGs. Moreover the private sector expressed great interest to participate and share their initiatives with high willingness to adapt changes or share knowledge to better achieve the SDGs.