Page 12 - U4SSC Verification Report, Kristiansund, Norway, September 2020

5. Benchmarks and Scoring Methodology

As part of the U4SSC KPIs project, benchmarks were developed for most KPIs in order to develop a
reporting framework with which to demonstrate to cities how their performance could be reported.

The benchmarks were set based on several factors:

• fully meeting the aligned SDG(s);
• performance compared with other international and transnational targets (e.g. OECD, European
Commission);

• performance against a UN agency’s goals (e.g. International Telecommunication Union);
• evaluation of city performance using UN and other international statistical data; and

• performance measured versus leading city performance globally.

Performance to benchmarks were then scored in four ranges for every KPI and data point reported:

• 0 – 33 % of target – 1 pt;

• 33 – 66 % of target – 2 pts;
• 66 – 95 % of target – 3 pts; and

• 95+ % of target – 4 pts.

The scores for each reported KPI and data point were added to give a percentage score for categories,
sub-dimensions and dimensions, and were reported based on the above target scores. KPIs or data
points that are not reported or have no benchmarks yet defined were excluded.

Example: Education 4 KPIs

• If all 4 are reported and the scores are 1 pt, 3 pts, 4 pts and 1 pt;
Total score 9 pts out of 16 = 56.25 % reported as 33 – 66 % of target.

• If only 3 are reported and the scores are 3 pts, 4 pts and 2 pts;
Total score 9 pts out of 12 = 75 % reported as 66 – 95 % of target.

Targets and scoring are meant to provide additional context to KPI data and should be used in context
with city goals and comparisons with other similar cities to determine future actions.

4 Verification Report | Kristiansund, Norway | September 2020