In
this guest blog, Heinz-Herbert Noll and Catrin Berger of the German
Social Indicators Research Centre of GESIS-Leibniz Institute for the Social
Sciences, present the results for the e-Frame project to conduct a comprehensive
stocktaking of social monitoring and reporting initiatives, leading to a
report, a new web portal and an online database.
About
As part of the EU FP7 project e-Frame
– European Framework for Measuring Progress – the German Social Indicators
Research Centre (ZSi) of GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences has
taken stock of social monitoring and reporting activities currently going on in
Europe. The results are available in terms of a “Stocktaking Report on Social
Monitoring and Reporting in Europe” (Noll/Berger 2014) as well as an
online-database, which is accessible via a new web portal “Social Monitoring
and Reporting in Europe”.
The stocktaking covers social
monitoring activities in terms of well-being indicator sets or indicator
systems and composite indices of well-being as well as social reporting
activities in terms of comprehensive social reports and reports that at least
cut across various life domains. Also included are relevant current projects
and initiatives addressing well-being, progress and sustainable development
issues. Activities in the field of sustainable development are only taken into
account as far as issues of “social sustainability” are covered. The focus is
clearly put at activities at supranational and national level, activities at
sub-national levels, like regions or local communities, are not taken into
account.
The Social Monitoring and
Reporting in Europe – Database resulting from the stocktaking work provides
basic information on ca. 230 activities as yet and will be continuously updated
in the future. For each activity the database provides information on the
following a number of characteristics.
A web-interface allows easy
and comfortable online access to the database via different search options,
which allow users to make use of a free text search tool or to search by selecting
specific countries, groups of countries, supranational institutions and types
of activities by clicking boxes in various dropdown lists. There is also an
option available to select countries via an interactive map.
Stocktaking
Report on Social Monitoring and Reporting in Europe
The “Stocktaking Report on Social Monitoring and Reporting in Europe” (Noll/Berger 2014) provides a
systematic overview of the variety of social monitoring and reporting
activities currently going on in Europe, focusing on comprehensive reports and
monitoring instruments. It covers activities at (supranational) European Level
as well as national activities in 32 European countries grouped in four
European regions (Northern, Western/Central, Southern, Eastern Europe). The
report not only seeks to identify blind spots at the European map of social
monitoring and reporting, but even more discusses different approaches and
highlights “good practices”. By documenting and allowing better access to this sort
of information, the report also aims to establish linkages between past and
current activities and to form a more solid fundament for present and future discourses
and initiatives in the field of measuring and monitoring well-being and
progress. In other words, the report is first and foremost considered as a contribution
to enhance the future measurement of well-being and societal progress 'beyond
GDP' and to improve respective information infrastructures. The final parts of
the report explore common patterns and trends and present suggestions for
future improvements and research agendas.
Among the various findings, the report underlines that
there are very few countries left in Europe without any social monitoring or
reporting activities and that there is a remarkable degree of similarity
concerning the coverage of certain life domains. Despite several similarities
the report identifies however also many important differences between the various
activities, especially in regard to the general aims as well as the degree and
kind of conceptual underpinning and not least the underlying notions of well-being.
The report also identifies strengths and weaknesses of social monitoring and
reporting activities depending on the institutional background and responsible
actors such as governments, national statistical bureaus or research
institutes. Finally the report discusses issues that are relevant for future developments
and improvements in measuring societal progress 'beyond GDP', regarding the
content as well as methodological approaches of social monitoring and reporting
activities, the use of composite indices, the relationship between well-being
and sustainability, now- and forecasting, harmonization vs. diversity, innovation
and continuity and last but not least, networking and collaboration.
Web portal
“Social Monitoring and Reporting in Europe”
The
GESIS – Web-portal “Social Monitoring and Reporting in Europe”, which is also
an outcome of the e-Frame project, aims to present and showcase various sorts
of information related to social monitoring and reporting activities in Europe
at national as well as supranational levels. This web portal does not only
provide access to the stocktaking report and online database mentioned before,
but also provides online access to instruments for monitoring well-being and
progress and publications related to social reporting in Europe. The web portal
also informs regularly on new releases of social reports, conference
announcements and recent events, projects, and any other significant news in
the fields of European social monitoring and reporting.
Reference
Noll, Heinz-Herbert
and Catrin Berger (2014): Stocktaking Report on Social Monitoring and Reporting
in Europe. E-Frame Project, Deliverable D5.2. Gesis, Social Indicators Research
Centre, Mannheim.
Links
www.eframeproject.eu/
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