The Social Progress Index Stands Out at #HLPF18 for Helping Countries Measure the SDGs

Earlier today, adjacent to the 2018 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), Costa Rica and Paraguay collaborated with the United Nations Office for Partnerships, the Social Progress Imperative, and other civil society and business leaders to have an important discussion on the “Localization and Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Using the Social Progress Index”.

Measuring and advancing the SDGs at a local level is a complex task that most decision makers face in order to fulfill the 2030 agenda, which is why an increasing number of member governments and businesses are using the Social Progress Index to keep track of progress towards the SDGs and make their communities more resilient.

“The Social Progress Index represents the first comprehensive framework for measuring social progress that is independent of, and complimentary to, traditional economic indicators. It is certainly important that an official SDG monitoring and performance tracking system is established and followed. However, the Social Progress Index also offers a well suited rapid-assessment approach to help facilitate the understanding, engagement and implementation of the SDGs. Currently, the Social Progress Index measures 16 out of 17 goals and reflects 131 out of 169 targets in one simple framework, which makes the implementation, visualization and actionability of the SDGs a tangible reality for social innovators all over the world.” Read more about the Social Progress Index and the SDGs

At today’s event in New York, several national and local governments shared their experiences and learning from using the Social Progress Index to drive actions, create impact and achieve a positive systemic change in public policy, private investments and societal behavior.

We hope this is the beginning of a continuing dialogue and exchange of practices and resources to achieve the SDGs, and sincerely appreciate each of the speaker’s insights, the audience’s questions and global interest in using the Social Progress Index. We also look forward to sharing more countries’ experiences with the index at our next international, solution-producing event: “What Works 2019″ – the global summit on social progress. In collaboration with the World Bank, we’ll gather in Reykjavik, Iceland between April 1-3, 2019 to learn from other international case studies and co-develop new tools and solutions for SDGs measurement.

Catch up on today’s discussion by viewing the speaker’s presentations linked below:

• The Social Progress Index and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Michael Green Chief Executive Officer, Social Progress Imperative.
• How to build a framework to track SDG progress at a national level in Paraguay: José R. Molinas Vega, Minister, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of Technical Planning of Economic and Social Development (STP), Government of Paraguay.
• The experience of Costa Rica, using the Social Progress Index: Verónica García, Chargée d’Affaires in the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations in New York.
• Localizing the SDGs at the municipality level in Iceland: Ármann Kr. Ólafsson, Mayor of Kópavogur, Iceland. Bonus! Watch how the city is using the Social Progress Index to plan future development
• Advancing the SDGs at state and district level in India: Amit Kapoor, President and Chief Executive Officer, India Council on Competitiveness.
• Advancing the SDGs for youth: The Youth Progress Index by Dejan Bojanic, Vice President, Youth European Forum.