Wednesday, 16th of December 2021 marked the completion of a participatory training on evidence-based decision making for sustainable urban development. UNDP had partnered with the Riyadh Urban Observatory (RUO) that works under the umbrella of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), that is tasked with developing sustainable urban monitoring systems which supports comprehensive planning across the city of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

UNDP Resident Representative, Dr. Adam Bouloukos, mentioned the long-lasting partnership with RCRC dates back to 2009. He stressed  that UNDP partnerships have further gained momentum with Vision 2030. He said “although this workshop is one component of the program UNDP has with RUO and RCRC, it embodies the qualities that UNDP brings such as knowledge transfer, best practice, deeper perspective on SDG and the spirit of working together as one team”.  He then continued to mention "UNDP is not here only to deliver projects but to partner to implement vision 2030. UNDP teams work within organisations and institutions to build capacities, transfer knowledge, deliver results and make a positive impact "

The training aimed to enhance the RCRC staff's knowledge and skills and has been designed for more efficient operation of the RUO database and development of indicators for effective monitoring of the Riyadh Strategy and Riyadh Sustainability Strategy. In addition the Support to Riyadh Urban Observatory project current phase is aimed to evaluate the results of the institutional and individual capacity development through a participatory process, and to identify and address immediate training priorities so as to strengthen institutional and individual capacity to enable RCRC team to proficiently review, develop, align, apply, and monitor and report on RUO indicators in line with the strategic objectives, programmes and initiatives of the new Riyadh Strategy and Riyadh Sustainability Strategy, as well as national development frameworks (e.g., Vision 2030, National Spatial Strategy 2030) and international development frameworks — in particular, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UNDP Sustainable Development Advisor, Nadine Bitar, leading the training said “Evidence-Based Policies facilitates decision making for implementing Vision 2030 while contributing to KSA commitments to Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement. The Workshop presented a comprehensive perspective on how Innovative monitoring, reporting and evaluating frameworks align policies, programs and strategies with Vision2030  while leaving no one behind and contributing to the SDG's.”

Therefore, the training agenda focused on monitoring and evaluating for Sustainable Urban Development feeding into evidence-based decision making supporting for RCRC. The training program — taking urban sustainability indicators as a central focus — provided tools for monitoring and evaluation of the urban dimension of city strategies and programs specially focusing on remedying the challenge to link back to the policy cycle. The conceptual framework of the program was built around Evidence-Based Policies for sustainable urban development in relation to the different dimensions and linkages of SDG11 in relation to other interlinked SDGs. Such Interlinkages were further explained in relation to Riyadh new City Strategy and Riyadh sustainability strategy – both targeting 2030 as a major milestone.

In that respect, the training also explored the future of urban observatories in relation to digital smart technologies as a tool, co-creation of studies and reports as a process, and urban intelligence as a new area. In addition, the training included quick snapshots on the advanced monitoring and evaluation tools used in cities to pave the way for urban observatories for the future.

The training objectives were:

• Develop an in-depth conceptual understanding of Evidence-Based Policies and its importance for Sustainable Urban Development (SUD)
• Proficiently monitor and report on the new Riyadh Strategy and Riyadh Sustainability Strategy from an SUD perspective  
• Overcoming reporting challenges for SUD
• Apply new tools and concepts to monitor for evidence-based decisions towards achieving urban targets for Agenda 2030

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), and its Riyadh Urban Observatory (RUO) as a part of the national efforts to improve the urban sector in Saudi Arabia, and in realizing the Urban Vision and Saudi Vision 2030.