BRAINPOoL final conference on alternative indicators held in Paris

The BRAINPOoL (Bringing Alternative Indicators into Policy) final conference, which was held in Paris on 24 March, marked the culmination of a two-and-a-half year project which focussed on promoting indicators measuring societal progress in a broader sense than traditional Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The project was set up in October 2011 and is delivered by a consortium of partners across Europe, including universities and think-tanks. Funded by the European Commission, the project aimed to increase the influence of Beyond GDP  indicators in policy, by improving knowledge transfer between those creating and promoting such indicators and their potential users.

During the project, BRAINPOoL analysed the demand for Beyond GDP indicators, catalogued the range of such indicators in use, and looked at the factors which make some indicators more successful than others. Alongside this work, it conducted seven case studies across Europe, looking at where Beyond GDP indicators could be used, in order to identify common barriers to use and how these might be overcome.

BRAINPOoL also produced a fact sheet on Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index, which is based on the Alkire Foster method, citing it as ‘a useful measurement system for surveying people’s subjective feelings about their day to day living conditions’, and highlighting its potential to ‘serve as inspiration for similar tools in different settings’.

You can find out more about the BRAINPOoL project here, and view documents from the final conference here.