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Is life getting better? Are our societies making progress? For a good portion of the 20th century there was an implicit assumption that economic growth was synonymous with progress: an assumption that a growing Gross Domestic Products (GDP) meant life must be getting better. But now the world recognizes that it isn’t quite as simple as that. The recent speech given by the French president Mr. Sarkozy, who established a commission led by Prof. Stiglitz to address these issues, has raised a lot of media interest on this issue.
Measures that go beyond GDP to represent a broader view of the ways in which societies are progressing and regressing are becoming more and more popular. Measures which are based on the values of a society, not those of a single political party or an elite few. Such sets of progress measures can help governments focus in a more joined up way on what really matters: they can foster a more informed debate on where a society is, where it wants to head, and – crucially – the choices it needs to make if it is to get there. By measuring progress we can foster progress.
In June 2007, three years after its first World Forum on “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy” held in Italy, the OECD, in collaboration with the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Commission and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, ran the second World Forum in Istanbul on “Measuring and Fostering the Progress of Societies”. Some 1200 people, from over 130 countries attended. Presidents and ministers rubbed shoulders with the leaders of civil society. Captains of industry met the heads of charitable foundations and leading academics. They shared a common interest in wanting to develop better measures of how the world is progressing.
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The conference led to the Istanbul Declaration English version which calls for action to identify what “progress” means in the 21st century and to stimulate international debate, based on solid statistical data and indicators, on both global issues of societal progress and how societies compare. In particular, the Declaration calls for actions to:
encourage communities to consider for themselves what “progress” means in the 21st century;
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share best practices on the measurement of societal progress and increase the awareness of the need to do so using sound and reliable methodologies;
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stimulate international debate, based on solid statistical data and indicators, on both global issues of societal progress and comparisons of such progress;
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produce a broader, shared, public understanding of changing conditions, while highlighting areas of significant change or inadequate knowledge;
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advocate appropriate investment in building statistical capacity, especially in developing countries, to improve the availability of data and indicators needed to guide development programs and report on progress toward inter
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national goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals.
An increasing number of organisations and individuals have signed the Istanbul declaration. Organisations and people who signed the Istanbul declaration.
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Watch this movie - it includes interviews with some of the speakers who attended the Istanbul World Forum and showcases the conference and highlights the importance of Measuring the Progress of Societies.
The final conference agenda includes links to the papers and presentations given. Some sessions were broadcast over the web in 7 languages - View the recorded sessions.
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Newsroom
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 In France, Nobel Prize winners have been requested by the government to study new methods of measuring growth. Economists are in a global search for keys to new indexes. Recent articles in the Newsroom.
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What people know
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The Global Project on “Measuring the Progress of Societies”, has launched with other organisations an international survey on; "What people know" about the progress of societies. Read more
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Regional Working Groups
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 The Global Project has been setting up regional working groups for the project around the world. Their goals are to develop better measures of societal progress. For example, plans are already under way with groups in Africa and Latin America.
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Getting involved
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Research activities will be strengthened other the coming months; research will focus on some of the new and complex areas that are relevant for progress, like social cohesion, subjective well-being, good governance and others. We are going to produce a handbook on measuring progress that will bring together the world’s best practices and provide a tool-kit for those wishing to embark on a "Measuring Progress" project.
The Global Project relies on contributions from those who use and develop measures of progress.
It will be soon possible to share information by describing your initiative or uploading a paper in a new online knowledge base> where you may upload your favourite webpages and submit a summary.
For
more information please contact us at GlobalProject.Knowledge@oecd.org
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Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
George Bernard Shaw |
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Key questions for discussion
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