“Since the 2030 Agenda was adopted over five years ago, civil society has mobilized to provide valuable reporting to complement official state sources and fill in critical data gaps. In many ways, civil society stakeholders serve as the most indispensable part of the measurement, monitoring and accountability framework for the SDGs, as they often provide a critical link between governments and stakeholders. Nationally and locally-focused civil society stakeholders can therefore play a key role in monitoring and reviewing processes at the national level.

Recognizing the critical importance of civil society “Spotlight Reports” and alternative instruments in the monitoring and review of progress on the SDGs, the TAP Network hopes to continue to support civil society in providing updated guidance on how to prepare a national-level Spotlight Report on SDG implementation. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reporting on the SDGs, this newly updated guidance aims to guide civil society stakeholders to reflect on their own national and local priorities, as well as the state of SDG implementation in their countries, with the aim of supporting robust and comparable civil society reporting.” (p.2)