Introduction

Since 2020, APPGM-SDG has been mapping local needs through three‑day field visits. We gather grassroots views via focus group discussions and publish the findings after obtaining feedback from district‑level government agencies through inter‑agency dialogues. Between 2020 and 2025, we have conducted these exercises in 143 parliamentary constituencies and have published the reports and situational analyses. In 2026, we are visiting a further 16 constituencies.

In addition, drawing from local priority lists, we have undertaken micro‑solution projects lasting approximately six months, implemented through local solution providers and communities. Between 2020 and 2025, we funded 1,587 SDG micro‑projects carried out by 1,009 local solution providers in 143 locations.

We have also established SDG Local Taskforce teams in about 50 districts through the District Office to identify local solutions with the support of district‑level government agencies. We have also undertaken thematic policy reviews at the parliamentary level on topics such as poverty, food security, and environmental concerns.

Visit our website at https://appgm-sdg.com/ for more details and view the videos as you read the reports.

Call for participation

We call on all Malaysians—especially researchers affiliated with MPs, parliament, think tanks, CSOs and NGOs, postgraduate students in public or private universities (local or overseas), and lecturers—to participate in this contest. Civil servants and those working with UN‑related agencies are also welcome. We encourage everyone to take part.

Participants will write a research‑based article using the APPGM SDG mapping reports, situational analyses, and parliamentary policy papers prepared by the APPGM SDG secretariat team.

General guidelines

• All written articles must use findings from the mapping reports over the last three years (2023, 2024 and 2025). These will serve as the primary source for analysis.
• There are 86 published reports from 86 parliamentary constituencies on local issues, entitled Laporan Pemetaan Isu Kawasan Parlimen. There are also 86 reports entitled Lawatan Pemetaan Isu, which document the field visits.
• In the analysis, writers will need to use data to compare findings from three to five mapping reports—either across different years or across different parliamentary constituencies.
• All these reports are available on the APPGM-SDG website at APPGM-SDG Resource Library
• Articles that do not refer to the APPGM SDG mapping reports will be rejected.
• Example: A writer could focus on a theme such as flooding or poverty among indigenous people, drawing findings from a minimum of three to five parliamentary reports.
• The review could examine topics based on data from different locations—for example, comparing a parliamentary constituency in Kelantan with one in Sabah or Sarawak. It could also look at issues in urban locations, comparing Petaling Jaya or Kuala Lumpur with Ipoh and Penang (e.g., are urban poor issues similar across different cities?).
• The article must reference an SDG theme related to economic, social, or environmental dimensions, or it may be cross‑cutting, including issues such as inequality and gender. Specific SDG goals, targets, and indicators from the 2030 Agenda document must be cited. Articles that do not make reference to the SDGs will be rejected. See details at https://sdgs.un.org/

Technical guidelines

• The research article must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words, including references.
• You may use AI or any technology tool for analysis, but you must clearly indicate which paragraphs are AI‑generated and which are your own. This should be done similarly as footnote entries.
• If plagiarism is detected, the paper will be rejected.
• Your paper will be rated higher if it references secondary data or theories from other sources in the analysis or when describing the issues.
• Writers are also encouraged to propose policy solutions. For this, you may review the eight parliamentary policy reports, entitled Laporan Awal Dasar SDG Peringkat Parlimen APPGM–SDG. These are published on the APPGM SDG website.

Key dates

APPGM-SDG REPORTS ON PARLIMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES
(available on the website for public viewing)