Measuring Well-being and Societal Progress - Beyond GDP

Development Programme and the World Bank agreed in signing a common declaration 11 encompassing the“commitment to measuring and fostering the progress of societies in all their dimensions”, the support of“initiatives at the country level” and the formation of “a shared view of societal well-being and itsevolution over time” through the following points:• encourage communities to consider for themselves what “progress” means in the 21 st century;• share best practices on the measurement of societal progress and increase the awareness of theneed to do so using sound and reliable methodologies;• stimulate international debate, based on solid statistical data and indicators, on both globalissues of societal progress and comparisons of such progress;• produce a broader, shared, public understanding of changing conditions, while highlightingareas of significant change or inadequate knowledge;• advocate appropriate investment in building statistical capacity, especially in developingcountries, to improve the availability of data and indicators needed to guide development programsand report on progress toward international goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals.To respond to the mandate received from the Istanbul Forum the OECD proposed to launch a “GlobalProject on Measuring the Progress of Societies” (www.oecd.org/oecdworldforum). To achieve its goals,the Global Project will carry out activities in the following areas:A) Statistical research on the measurement of societal progress in all its dimensionsThe international statistical system is extremely active in the development of methodologicalrecommendations on how to measure particular phenomena, but it has not created any focal point toaddress the issue of measuring societal progress. Therefore, building on the work done by the OECD andother international and national organisations in specific subject matter domains, the Global Project aims tobecome the worldwide focal point on the measurement of societal progress. It should establish aninternational network of initiatives carried out by statistical offices, research institutes, NGOs, internationalorganisations, etc. concerning the measurement of progress (wellbeing, quality of life, etc.).B) Design, develop and promote the use of innovative ICT tools to facilitate the transformation of statisticsinto knowledgeIndicators, no matter how accurate, are only useful if they are used by the audience for which theywere produced. But statistical information is not widely read and understood, often because it is presentedquite poorly for a general audience. Much more can be done, particularly with the rapid development ofICT. Several software houses and large ICT companies are developing new tools to manage anddisseminate statistics (especially indicators) to both specialised users and the public. Statistical offices andother research institutes are improving their dissemination and communication. And there are initiativesaimed at measuring societal progress through indicators that have developed innovative solutions topresent statistical evidence, for example, linking quantifiable policy goals and targets to actual measures ofpolicy outcomes. Indeed, some Internet experts envisage the possibility that in the near future politicians11 The Istanbul Declaration has been posted on the Global Project website (www.oecd.org/oecdworldforum). Other organisations have since signed up to itincluding: Environment Europe, Gallup Organization Europe, International Statistical Institute, The Lisbon Council, UNESCO and United Nations Office forPartnerships.22