Project description
The connection between economic growth, human flourishing and sustainability
What’s good for the economy can be bad for social inclusion purposes and for the environment in terms of pollution, climate change and depletion of limited natural resources. In this context, the EU-funded SPES project will explore the connection between economic growth, human flourishing and sustainability. Specifically, it will study the pillars of sustainable human development – productivity, equality for all, environmental sustainability, and participation – and conduct an in-depth analysis of their performance across Europe and the Global South. It will also consider synergies and trade-offs among these pillars for the sustainability transition. SPES will design appropriate communication, dissemination and impact strategies, involving also an international stakeholder committee and a scientific advisory board.
Objective
The aim of the SPES project is to generate new knowledge and evidence about the nexus between economic growth, human flourishing and sustainability, contributing to the creation and uptake of a novel integrated framework fostering the transition towards the sustainable human development in European countries and regions.
The SPES project focusing its attention, both theoretically and empirically, on the four pillars of the sustainable human development: a) Productivity, conceived as pursuing an efficient use of economic, human and natural resources through innovation processes; b) Equality for all, conceived as fostering equal political, economic, social and cultural opportunities; c) Sustainability, conceived as promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation and ensuring the protection, restoration and improvement of the environment; d) Participation and empowerment, conceived as enabling citizens, social groups and communities to be active agents of their future.
Focusing on these four pillars allows both an in-depth analysis of their synergies and trade-offs, and their contribution to transition performances across Europe and the Global South.
SPES will combine diverse methods, including 1) econometric analysis, including microsimulation and panel data analysis; 2) co-design workshops with key stakeholders; 3) scenario analysis; 4) case-study analysis
The strong involvement of a carefully structured International Stakeholder Committee and of a Scientific Advisory Board, as well as the adoption of tailored communication, dissemination and impact Strategies, will decisively contribute to foster SPES impact. The newly produced policy and measurement framework will give further strengths to the transition towards sustainable human development by informing both the public debate and the implementation of existing policy frameworks, with a particular focus on the 2030 Agenda, the European Green Deal and the Just Transition Mechanisms, and the NextGeneration EU.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdata science
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencessustainability sciences
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicspolitical economy
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
50121 Florence
Italy