Project description
Breaking the GDP barrier for sustainable development
In the quest for sustainable development, the limitations of relying solely on GDP as a measure of progress have become evident. Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and aligning with the EU’s environmental and social sustainability policies demands a more comprehensive approach. However, the existing evidence on alternative measures is fragmented, impeding the establishment of a unified framework. The lack of consensus on indicators and policy frameworks poses a major obstacle to setting and monitoring effective goals. In this context, the EU-funded MERGE project aims to foster dialogue. As a collaborative initiative, MERGE brings together leading researchers and key communities, to facilitate dialogue and knowledge exchange.
Objective
Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the European Union's policies on environmental and social sustainability requires a comprehensive measure of human progress that does not focus solely on GDP. However, the evidence on alternative approaches is fragmented and the lack of consensus on competing indicators and policy frameworks is a mAchieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the European Union's policies on environmental and social sustainability requires a comprehensive measure of human progress that does not focus solely on GDP. However, the evidence on alternative approaches is fragmented and the lack of consensus on competing indicators and policy frameworks is a major obstacle to setting policy goals that promote multi-dimensional well-being and to monitoring and measuring progress. MERGE addresses these challenges by providing a forum for dialogue, co-creation and knowledge exchange, and by linking cutting-edge research and policy practice. A consortium of leading researchers and key communities in the field, MERGE brings together three recently launched higher education research consortia (SPES, ToBe, WISE Horizons) and an ERC grant (REAL). To scale up results, MERGE provides a framework for creating and strengthening a multidisciplinary community of researchers, a technical and knowledge network, a policy network and a network of civil society actors. Through these networks, MERGE aims to build a broad consensus on easy-to-use and acceptable indicators and frameworks for measuring multidimensional well-being within planetary boundaries in the EU and Member States, as well as in global organisations and civil society. MERGE participants will benefit from collaborative and training events, analyses, indicators, datasets and policy briefings. Through knowledge exchange, stakeholders and researchers can adopt and develop a systematic and coherent understanding of the sustainable economy paradigm in their own work.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-CSA - HORIZON Coordination and Support ActionsCoordinator
33100 Tampere
Finland