F. Implementation and follow-up of the Habitat Agenda

5. Performance evaluation, indicators and best practices

239. It is essential to evaluate the impact of policies, strategies and actions on the provision of adequate shelter and the achievement of sustainable human settlements development. The results of these evaluations will be considered by the relevant United Nations organs and bodies, including the Commission on Human Settlements. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), together with other relevant organizations, will be responsible for establishing an appropriate process for analysing and monitoring major trends in urbanization and the impact of urban policies. In particular, age and gender-disaggregated information on the impact of urbanization on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, including children, should be collected, taking into account other relevant work in this field.

240. All partners of the Habitat Agenda, including local authorities, the private sector and communities, should regularly monitor and evaluate their own performances in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through comparable human settlements and shelter indicators and documented best practices. The Centre's responsibilities will include providing assistance to establish guidelines for national and local monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through the use of housing and human settlements indicator programmes. The data collection and analysis capabilities of all these partners should be strengthened and assisted, where appropriate, at all levels, especially the local level.

241. As part of their commitment to strengthening their existing shelter- and settlements-related data collection and analysis capabilities, Governments at all levels, including local authorities, should continue to identify and disseminate best practices, and should develop and apply shelter and human settlements development indicators, including those that reflect the rights and well-being of children. The key indicators, augmented by policy-oriented national and subnational level indicators specific to the different regions, and other relevant information, as appropriate, will be used by Governments for assessing national implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The indicators should cover key areas of the Habitat Agenda, such as shelter, health, transport, energy, water supply, sanitation, employment and other aspects of urban sustainability, empowerment, participation and local responsibility, and should be gender-specific where possible. Such information, which should be available and accessible to all, will be provided to the United Nations, taking into account the different reporting procedures in the economic, social and environmental fields, and the need for reporting procedures to reflect diversity in regional, national, subnational and, in particular, local characteristics and priorities.