Vol. 7, Issue 1, Part F (2025)

This systematic review investigates how Local Government Units (LGUs) can effectively incorporate and localize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their development plan. Analyzing 42 studies under the PRISMA framework, the study answers three important questions: priority strategies for SDG prioritization, challenges that impede its implementation, and best practices in monitoring outcomes. Findings indicate that effective SDG localization demands systematic approaches, with multi-criteria analysis proving to be especially well-suited for setting priorities according to strategic value, normative aptitude, and available resource capacity. Stakeholder involvement via participatory planning procedures enhances local ownership and guarantees initiatives meet local needs. Systems thinking methodologies assist LGUs in recognizing synergies between disparate goals, leveraging maximum impact from minimum resources. Yet, major impediments to implementation exist, such as lack of funds, poor infrastructure, poor institutional capacity, and regulatory mismatches. These are concentrated in LGUs in poorer areas, posing a paradox where the places that most require sustainable development have the lowest capacity to seek it. Best monitoring practices consist of participatory assessment, locally appropriate performance measurement, and technology-based data systems that improve accountability and allow for ongoing enhancement. The implications extend beyond individual LGUs to broader policy and practice, requiring governance gap-filling through enhanced decentralization and policy coherence, resource gap-filling via innovative funding mechanisms and capacity-building, and participation gap-filling through inclusive planning processes. By addressing these challenges simultaneously, LGUs can transform global sustainability goals into meaningful local action, creating tangible improvements in communities while contributing to the broader 2030 agenda for sustainable development.