Responding to COVID-19 and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals have strong local dimensions and require increased localized actions. At the same time, cities cannot and do not work alone. As noted by the UN-Habitat report Cities and Pandemics: Towards a More Just, Green and Healthy Future, recovering from the pandemic and implementing the Goals imply the establishment of effective, transparent and inclusive multilev el governance processes. Moreover, in the policy brief entitled “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the wake of COVID-19: scenarios for policymakers”, Member States and the international community are urged to invest in data to respond to the crisis and support acceleration of progress towards the Goals. This would in turn facilitate monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the impacts of recovery plans at all levels, while providing evidence for the formulation of sustainable development strategies, policies and initiatives. Voluntary local reviews represent a unique tool to improve data environments, enhance multilevel governance and strengthen the Sustainable Development Goals-COVID-19 recovery link. Voluntary local reviews are a tool for local and regional governments to monitor and evaluate territorial development strategies and have the potential to provide evidence for the design of COVID-19 recovery plans both at the local and national levels. The project proposes an integrated territorial approach to sustainable development rooted in the principle of leaving no one behind, multilevel governance and innovation. It aims to foster na tional recovery from the pandemic by harnessing the potential of voluntary local reviews as the basis for the de sign of local recovery plans inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. Ultimately, the project’s aim is to consolidate a methodology for co nnecting localization of the Goals and COVID-19 recovery to ensure scaling up and replication within and across countries in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region and beyond.