The conceptualisation of resilience dimensions and comprehensive quantification of the associated indicators: A systematic approach

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a framework comprising 231 indicators to assess the level of sustainable development in all countries. However, the framework is criticised for lacking an inclusive evaluation of resilience despite accepting it as a component of sustainability. Many resilience indicators have been proposed in the literature with the potential to be introduced in SDGs. Yet, the initial challenge is the lack of an agreement on resilience dimensions and a common framework of indicators to measure them. In this review, key resilience dimensions (KDs), as well as the related objective indicators, are defined through the review of the resilience literature, from 1970 to the present day. Here, 21 different resilience dimensions, along with the indicators to assess them, have been extracted. Conducting the framework analysis method, the indicators related to each dimension have been coded based on variables (that categorise indicators due to the measured features) and sub-domains (that classify variables in overall themes). Later, similarity matrices are developed to define the strength of the codes' co-occurrence among 21 dimensions. Consequently, five KDs were conceptualised - social, economic, institutional, infrastructural, and environmental. The KDs have been later utilised as a context on which indicators to measure resilience have been formulated in a comprehensive framework. This framework, as well as resolving the disagreement on resilience dimensions and their proliferation, supports the refinement of future indicators and enhancement of resilience measurement in SDGs.