Professor Michael E Porter Presents New Alternative to GDP: The Social Progress Index (SPI). Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

Oxford, United Kingdom - April 11, 2013

Michael Porter Presents New Alternative to GDP: The Social Progress Index (SPI).

Sweden is the most socially advanced country globally according to a new index released today at the Skoll World Forum, the premier international platform for accelerating entrepreneurial approaches and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing social issues.

The Social Progress Imperative will begin by measuring a diverse group of 50 countries representing three-quarters of the world’s population. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

Britain is ranked second, above Germany, which ranks fifth, the United States, sixth, and Japan, eighth.

The Social Progress Index, which ranked 50 countries by their social and environmental performance, was designed by Professor Porter and The Social Progress Imperative.

Country Report – POLAND. The Social Progress Index 2013. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

They are working in collaboration with economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and leading international organisations in social entrepreneurship, business, philanthropy, and academia including Cisco, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL), Skoll Foundation, Fundación AVINA, and Compartamos Banco.

Overall Index and Dimension Level Ranks for Each Country. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

The Social Progress Index is distinctive for being based entirely on social and environmental measures covering basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing and opportunity.

Overall Index and Dimension Level Ranks for Each Country. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

The Index shows where nations should focus their efforts to improve the wellbeing of their people.

It uses a rigorous statistical technique and the best available data from internationally recognised sources, including the World Bank and the World Health Organization.

The Foundations of Wellbeing dimension. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“The ‘Arab Spring’ of 2011 and the challenges in Mexico over the last decade, have illustrated the shortcomings of economic growth as a proxy for social progress”, said Professor Michael E Porter.
“In both business and economic development, our understanding of success has been incomplete.”

Social Progress Index Results. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“Previous efforts to go beyond economic measurement alone have laid important groundwork, but we need a more holistic, comprehensive, and rigorous approach. The Social Progress Index is an attempt to address these gaps and opportunities”, said Professor Porter.

Social Progress Index Results. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“Social progress depends on the policy choices, investments, and implementation capabilities of multiple stakeholders – government, civil society, and business. Action needs to be catalysed at country level. By informing and motivating those stakeholders to work together and develop a more holistic approach to development, I am confident that social progress will accelerate.” - said Professor Michael E Porter.

Social Progress Index Score and Dimension Level Scores for Each Country. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

The Social Progress Imperative asserts that traditional indicators of economic growth do not tell the whole story of a country’s progress.

While certainly greater income leads to higher standards of living, it is possible to achieve a high level of social progress at a relatively modest income level or even see progress regress over time.

The Opportunity dimension Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

No countries score in the top half for all 12 components of the Social Progress Index which are Nutrition and Basic Medical Care; Air, Water and Sanitation; Shelter; Personal Safety; Access to Basic Knowledge; Access to Information and Communication; Health and Wellness; Ecosystem Sustainability; Personal Rights; Access to Higher Education; Personal Freedom and Choice; and Equity and Inclusion.

The Social Progress Index Model. Structure of the Social Progress Index. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

Some of the key findings from the Social Progress Index include:

• Scores on the health and wellness component show no correlation to spending on health as a percent of GDP for the 16 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in the Index. This poses particular challenges for countries that spend the most on healthcare. The United States, for example, leads OECD nations in total spending per capita on healthcare, but ranks only 11th of the 16 OECD countries in the Social Progress Index on health and wellness. 

• Spain: 10th overall, and 11th in terms of GDP ranks 22nd for Personal Freedom and Choice.

• Britain (2nd) and Sweden (1st) perform highly on the Social Progress Index when compared to their performance on the United Nations Human Development Index because they perform consistently across the three dimensions of social progress – basic needs, foundations of wellbeing and opportunity - whereas the United States is weaker on foundations of wellbeing and Germany and France are weaker on opportunity. Nearly all rich countries perform poorly on ecosystem sustainability - especially large countries with abundant natural resources like Australia (46th), Canada (47th), and the United States (48th).

The Social Progress Index Model. The individual indicators within the Social Progress Index Framework. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“The Social Progress Index shows that countries with similar levels of GDP can have very different levels of social progress,” said Michael Green, Executive Director of the Social Progress Imperative.
“We expect some surprising transfers of knowledge in the next few years, as standout performers – among government, civil society, and business – document and share their approaches.”

Social Progress Index vs. GDP per capita (PPP). Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“At Deloitte, we believe that business plays a fundamental role in shaping and creating the society of the future. We will only resolve the big issues we face today, globally and regionally, through government, business and civil society working together in new and innovative ways to design and deliver solutions that create a sustainable and prosperous future for all” said Heather Hancock, Managing Director at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.
“We believe the Social Progress Index will make it easier for business to understand where and how it can get involved, helping to prioritise social investment decisions, and galvanise collective action.”

Social Progress Index vs. Global Competitiveness Index. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“The Social Progress Index is designed to help all of us make better decisions,” said Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation and a director of the Social Progress Imperative.
“This elegant tool makes essential information available to those driving change from the front lines and raises our collective responsibility for results that add up.”

Social Progress Index vs. Ease of Doing Business Rank. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

The Social Progress Index is the first project of the Social Progress Imperative as part of a wider set of initiatives to guide the investment and policy decisions of governments, the private sector, and civil society to have a positive impact on people’s lives.


About the Social Progress Imperative

The Social Progress Imperative’s mission is to advance global human wellbeing, by combining national social performance and capacity indicators with solutions-oriented outreach to sector leaders, and grassroots champions, who together can effect large-scale change.

Social Progress Index vs. Human Development Index. Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

The Social Progress Imperative counts organisations including Cisco, Deloitte, Skoll Foundation, Compartamos Banco, and Fundación AVINA as financial supporters.

Basic Human Needs vs. GDP per capita (PPP) Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

Social progress is defined as the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens to improve their lives, and create the conditions for individuals and communities to meet their full potential.

Nutrition and Basic Medical Care vs. GDP per capita (PPP) Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

It has its operational headquarters in Washington, DC.

More information may be found at http://socialprogressimperative.org  


The Social Progress Index

Designed by The Social Progress Imperative and Professor Michael Porter (co-founder of the Creation of Shared Value concept), the report is in collaboration with economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and leading international organisations in social entrepreneurship, business, philanthropy, and academia.

The creation of the Social Progress Index has been made possible only with the help of many, many people and organizations.

Foundations of Wellbeing vs. GDP per capita (PPP) Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“The Social Progress Imperative would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their contributions. Our Advisory Board of Professor Michael E Porter (Chair) of Harvard Business School, Judith Rodin of the Rockefeller Foundation, Professor Scott Stern of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hernando de Soto of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, and Matthew Bishop of The Economist has provided thought leadership and opened countless doors. Special thanks to Daniel Fehder at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his work with Professor Stern in creating, refining, and running the mathematical models used to calculate the scores in our index.” - said Brizio Biondi-Morra, Chairman, Social Progress Imperative.

Access to Basic Knowledge vs. PISA Mathematics Score Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“Previous efforts to go beyond economic measurement alone have laid important groundwork, but we need a more holistic, comprehensive, and rigorous approach. The Social Progress Index is an attempt to address these gaps and opportunities.” – said Professor Michael E. Porter.

Health and Wellness vs. Health Expenditure (% of GDP) Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

“We are honored that the chairman of our advisory board and author of this report is the world’s leading thinker on competitiveness, Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School. The Social Progress Index that he has designed in collaboration with Scott Stern of MIT is I believe, a major step forward in our understanding of how to improve the lives of millions of people. Our thanks also go to advisory board members Judith Rodin, Hernando de Soto and Matthew Bishop, three profound thinkers about global development.” - said Brizio Biondi-Morra, Chairman, Social Progress Imperative.

Opportunity vs. GDP per capita (PPP) Courtesy of the Social Progress Imperative

The Social Progress Index says it is distinctive for being based entirely on social and environmental measures covering basic human needs, foundations of well-being and opportunity.

The Index shows where nations should focus their efforts to improve the well-being of their people and says it uses a rigorous statistical technique and the best available data from internationally recognised sources, including the World Bank and the World Health Organisation.


Countries in the Social Progress Index 2013

The Social Progress Imperative will begin by measuring a diverse group of 50 countries representing three-quarters of the world’s population.

These original countries were chosen to represent a diversity of size, population, and ethnic composition.

The number of countries covered will increase annually until at least 120 countries are included.

The following countries are currently included in the Social Progress Index:

Africa

Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda

Americas

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, United States

Asia

Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam

Europe

Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

Middle East/North Africa

Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates.


Data Definitions

To be included in the Social Progress Index model, each indicator had to meet two criteria: internal validity (each indicator was carefully evaluated by the team to ensure that the measurement procedures used were reasonable and captured what the indicator purported to measure) and geographic availability (each indicator was required to have coverage for most, if not all, of the countries in our initial sample. We only included indicators that were measured well, with the same methodology, by the same organization, across all, or essentially all, of the countries in our sample).


For more information, please contact:

Jonathan Caleb-Landy
+44 (0)20 7759 1030
jcaleblandy@fenton.com  


View the full report SOCIAL PROGRESS INDEX 2013 by Michael E. Porter, Scott Stern and Roberto Artavia Loría here

http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi/findings  


Source: The Social Progress Imperative

http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/  

http://social-progress.org/approach/social-progress-index/  

http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/press  



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