The Social Progress Imperative is a US-based nonprofit created in 2012 best known for the Social Progress Index, a multi-indicator index that assesses the social and environmental performance of different countries. The Social Progress Index is an effort to complement the measure of national performance using traditional economic measures such as gross domestic product with data on social and environmental performance.[1]
Social Progress Imperative | |
| Website | https://www.socialprogress.org/ |
|---|---|
History
editIn 2010, a group of scholars and business leaders sought to develop a better measure of a country's level of development and, by extension, better understand its development priorities.[2][3] Under the technical guidance of Professors Michael Porter from Harvard Business School and Scott Stern from MIT, the group formed a US-based nonprofit called the Social Progress Imperative[4] and launched a beta version of the Social Progress Index for 50 countries in 2013 to measure a comprehensive array of components of social and environmental performance and aggregate them into an overall framework.
This work was influenced by the contributions of Amartya Sen on social development, as well as by the recent call for action in the report "Mismeasuring Our Lives" by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress.[5] The Social Progress Index was released in 2014 for 133 countries with a second version in 2015.[6][full citation needed]
On July 11, 2013, Social Progress Imperative's chairman and professor at Harvard Business School, Michael Porter, addressed the United Nations 6th Ministerial Forum for Development and discussed the Social Progress Index.[7]
In addition to the global Social Progress Index, the methodology used to create it has been adapted to measure social and environmental performance in smaller areas, such as the Amazon region of Brazil.[8] Other projects include a Social Progress Index for Guatemala City.[9] Fundación Paraguaya has integrated elements of the Social Progress Index into its Poverty Stoplight tool. The national government of Paraguay is setting a target for Social Progress Index performance alongside GDP targets.
The Guardian reported that the European Commission had agreed to partner with Social Progress Imperative to create a Social Progress Index for the European Union.[10] The EU Social Progress Index was published in October 2016.
A similar index, although with some differences compared to the nation list (and therefore not directly comparable), has been published for the individual U.S. states.[11][12]
Social Progress Index
editThe Social Progress Index examines social and environmental indicators that capture three distinct dimensions of social progress: Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity. The most recent version of the Social Progress Index is the 2021 Social Progress Index.
Awards
editMichael Green's TED Talk on The Social Progress Index was chosen as one of TED's favorite of 2014.[13][14]
Leadership
editMichael E Porter of Harvard Business School is Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Social Progress Imperative. Other members of its board include Judith Roden of the Rockefeller Foundation and Matthew Bishop of The Economist magazine. Economist Michael Green is Executive Director of the Social Progress Imperative.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Going Beyond GDP - Measuring Social Progress". worldwatch-europe.org. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ Vieira, Helena (August 10, 2017). "Beyond GDP: How social progress and competitiveness are closely related". LSE Business Review. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ Paulson, Tom (April 15, 2013). "Philanthrocapitalists propose a Social Progress Index". Humanosphere. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ "Measuring a progressive society". The Economist. June 29, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ "Beyond GDP". The Economist. April 18, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- ^ "Home". socialprogressimperative.org. Social Progress Imperitive. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
- ^ "Michael E Porter at the UN 6th Ministerial Forum for Development". socialprogressimperative.org. Social Progress Imperitive. July 17, 2013. Archived from the original on August 9, 2013.
- ^ Zweynert, Astrid (August 23, 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: Conservation of Amazon threatened by poor social conditions of its people - study". Thomson Reuters Foundation News. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- ^ "Índice de Progreso Social de la ciudad de Guatemala". progresosocial.org (in Spanish). Social Progress Imperative. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- ^ Confino, Jo (April 9, 2015). "European Commission agrees to investigate using social progress tool alongside GDP". The Guardian. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- ^ Social Progress Index: US States – Methodology Summary (PDF). Social Progress Imperative. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ "State Progress Reports". socialprogressimperative.org. Social Progress Imperative. 2018. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ "The Telegraph's pick of the 10 best TED talks". Telegraph.co.uk. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ "Michael Green: What the Social Progress Index can reveal about your country". Retrieved 30 October 2015.