The creation of SDG auditing as a proto-institution: the role of institutional work

Purpose The aim of this study is to explore what types of institutional work (IW) an actor of change, the INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), used to create sustainable development goals (SDGs) auditing practices for supreme audit institutions (SAIs). Design/methodology/approach Building on IW and theoretical concepts of proto-institutions, we examine the case of IDI promoting the diffusion of SDG auditing practices throughout national SAIs worldwide. The paper draws on longitudinal data (secondary and primary sources, respectively, official IDI sources and interviews with IDI professionals working with SDG audits) collected between 2021 and 2025, reflecting key stages in the development of SDG auditing. Findings Our findings suggest that the creation of SDG auditing as a proto-institution is best understood as a contested process of institutional adaptation. The creation of SDG auditing was not intended to replace existing practices but rather to reinforce them to meet the current challenges defined by the UN's 2030 Agenda. We observe that SDG audits appear to repurpose existing performance audits with new concepts and principles linked to the 2030 Agenda and can be seen as gradual change mechanisms that ensure the continued existence and relevance of institutions. The diverse IW strategies were motivated by the objective of creating SDG auditing as an augmentation of performance auditing. The findings demonstrate that SDG auditing emerged as a proto-institution rather than as a new institution in the traditional sense. Originality/value This paper presents a case of the creation of an institution (i.e. SDG auditing) through interactions between IDI and multiple actors, aimed at reinforcing and repurposing existing public auditing practices such as performance audits. We offer a nuanced view on how the IW of a proto-institution creation is part of an overall strategy by a change agent (IDI) to develop an established institutional field (i.e. performance audits) by gaining legitimacy, support and engaging stakeholders. The proto-institution of SDG audits thus represents an augmentation or adaptation of an existing practice for new purposes, consistent with the view of institutions as “multipurpose tools”.