The implementation of Agenda 2030 at municipal level : A qualitative study about officials’ experiences of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals

Sammanfattning: Background: Agenda 2030 is newly launched, thus little research has been conducted about the implementation at the municipal level. To increase the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) feasibility requires understanding which elements can facilitate the policy implementation process with the goal of healthy and sustainable societies. Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate the officials’ experiences of implementing the Agenda 2030 at the municipal level. Methods: A qualitative method with an inductive approach was used to address the study aim. A purposive sampling of participants was conducted, and a semi-structured interview was used as the data collection method. In total, ten informants from ten different municipalities participated. A manifest content analysis was conducted to analyze the collected data. Result: The implementation strategies that were used for mobilizing the community to achieve the Agenda 2030 could be divided into internal and external strategies. The internal strategies focused on knowledge enhancing activities and the integration of the SDGs into municipal existing steering documents. The external strategies focused on establishing partnerships and involving the local citizen in the community development. Conclusion: The experiences of the officials indicated that health promotion approaches, and the guiding principles can be valuable tools for municipalities to facilitate the policy implementation process related to Agenda 2030.