Is life getting better? Are our societies making progress? Indeed, what does “progress” mean to the world’s citizens? There can be few questions of greater importance in today’s rapidly changing world.  And yet how many of us have the evidence to answer these questions?

The Global Project on "Measuring the Progress of Societies"- hosted by the OECD and run in collaboration with other international and regional partners - it seeks to become the world wide reference point for those who wish to measure, and assess the progress of their societies. Read more about -  What we are doing

• Read the Institute of Development Studies new policy briefings on AFTER 2015: PROMOTING PRO-POOR POLICY AFTER THE MDGs - with briefings on 3d Human Wellbeing (that discusses the work of the Global Project); Gender Equality and Low Carbon Growth. The ‘After 2015’ debate is about questioning the value of an MDG-type, target-based approach to international development, about progress so far on poverty reduction, about looking to an uncertain future and exploring what kind of system we will need after the MDG deadline has passed.

• A draft paper from the Global Project that sets out a "Taxonomy" or Framework to measure the progress of societies has been sent for peer review to our network. Read more. 

• Newfoundland and Labrador’s system of Community Accounts has been recognized and endorsed by Canada’s Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology...

• The International Society of Supreme Audit Institutions have created a special working group on key national indicators 

The Global Project in conjunction with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, will hold a 5 day training course, “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy: Understanding Societal Changes” in Canberra, Australia on 27-31 July 2009.

The OECD-hosted Global Project in association with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission and the International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS) will hold a 4-day training course on “Statistics, Knowledge and Policy: Understanding Societal Change” in Florence, Italy on 14-17 July 2009.

The OECD-hosted Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies and InWent Capacity Building International have developed a 3 day Training Course on “Statistical Challenges in a Challenging World” to be held on 13-15 August 2009 preceding the 57th Session of the International Statistical Institute Conference in Durban, South Africa.

Contact us:  progress@oecd.org         This site: www.oecd.org/progress