How do we measure social progress? Traditionally, we have relied on monetary or material indicators to understand societal progress. The Young Foundation is currently part of a consortium of organisations asking what alternative measures exist and developing a way to move ‘Beyond GDP’ in Europe.

This project will provide guidance on what existing robust measures could be used to measure progress at the local level, identify areas for further research and recommendations on how best to implement measures at local level. Specifically, The Young Foundation is focusing on documenting existing measures. The project aims to encourage greater use, consistency and development of measures of social progress across municipalities, cities and regions.

Our work will encourage a common understanding on what types of data help measure social progress and establish local, national and international networks to strengthen understanding of indicators of social progress. The project builds on the Wellbeing and Resilience Measure (WARM) developed by The Young Foundation. WARM allows local agencies to take the temperature of their communities, from levels of anxiety to how much people talk to their neighbours.

Outputs

Beyond GDP: Measuring social progress at the local level

Publication

The aim of the Beyond GDP project was to expand our understanding of how we measure societal progress at a local level- ... Find out more

Rowing against the tide: Making the case for community resilience

Publication

Community resilience is a term that is increasingly used in the policy sphere and yet there is a lack of understanding a ... Find out more

WARM Taking the Temperature of Local Communities cover (October 2010)

Taking the temperature of local communities: The Wellbeing and Resilience Measure (WARM)

Publication

As public resources shrink it is more important than ever that local areas have ways to think clearly about their priori ... Find out more