On March 5, 2025, Local Futures: Communities Collaborating for the Sustainable Development Goals celebrated its project launch. Over seventy people from across Canada participated in-person and online.
Local Futures aims to bring universities, municipalities and community organizations together to leverage the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and build more sustainable and prosperous Canadian cities. Local Futures is a three-year project, funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program, and is located in the Grebel Peace Incubator at Conrad Grebel University College.
The event featured a panel discussion with project partners who discussed different components of the project. A common theme throughout the discussion was the importance of using a whole-of-society approach and bringing government and community actors together to take coordinated, collaborative actions.
Panelists highlighted:
- The SDGs can help us move towards “authentic sustainability” – sustainability that is defined by end goals, or thresholds, determined by a specific place. For example, sustainable water consumption is defined by the watershed and its carrying capacity. We need to understand local dynamics and thresholds to prioritize and focus efforts.
- Addressing complex issues, like sustainability and equity, requires deep transformation at the core of an organization. Organizations and cities need to adapt strategic management practices and work across departments, and with outside stakeholders, rather than working in isolation from one another.
- Operationalizing the SDGs in municipal government relies on actors outside of the government. Problem solving needs to be community wide, and for this to happen, there needs to be strong relationships with community actors. “Social infrastructure is the glue in the community, and it gives [elected representatives] the license to do big, bold things.”
- To create an enabling environment for collective impact, there needs to be a sense of urgency around the issues, shared leadership, and access to adequate resources. These three components can provide clarity and direction as they motivate a community to identify a shared vision, the actions that will be taken to achieve that vision, and the people who are responsible for taking action.
The SDGs can help communities imagine a different, more sustainable future. To make that vision actionable, the goals need to be translated into local realities to define authentic sustainability and to build strategic partnerships for action.
The launch was part of and the , initiatives designed to spotlight contributions by universities and colleges towards progress for the SDGs.
Event Panelists
- Julie Wright – Ward 7 Councillor, City of ݮƵ and National Director, Our Living Waters
- Randy Sa’d – Executive Director, REFOCUS
- Lisa Attygalle – Consulting Director of Community Engagement, Tamarack Institute
- Jon Beale (moderator) – Program Director, Local Futures