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SPES Project

SPES project logo

How can productivity, equity, sustainability, and participation be reconciled to help drive the transition towards sustainable human development in Europe?

Rising inequalities, persistent multidimensional poverty, and climate change are among some of the most alarming trends facing societies today. A growing number of experts attribute these trends to the long-term emphasis on policy decisions that focus too narrowly on GDP growth as the only measure of prosperity.

This research project contributes to fostering the sustainability transition in European countries/regions and explores the necessary structural change of their economies and societies. 

visit the SPES project website

SPES project objectives

Funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme, the SPES project (Sustainability Performances, Evidence & Scenarios) aims to better understand the interconnections between economic growth, human flourishing, and sustainability.

The SPES project will aim to bridge productivity and growth with inclusiveness and environmental protection, to ensure shared prosperity and wellbeing for all. It will do so by focusing on four pillars of sustainable human development:

    1. Productivity, defined as aiming for an efficient use of economic, human and natural resources through innovation;
    2. Equity for all, defined as fostering equal political, economic, social and cultural opportunities for all;
    3. Sustainability, defined as aiming to avoid, reduce, and adjust to climate change and ensuring the protection, restoration and improvement of the environment;
    4. Participation and empowerment, defined as enabling citizens, social groups and communities to be active agents of their future.

 

The results will inform the implementation of existing policy frameworks, with a particular focus on the 2030 Agenda, the European Green Deal, and the NextGenerationEU. This will give further strength to the transition towards sustainable human development in Europe and equip policymakers with information that will guide their strategies for achieving sustainable human development, using new evidence about past, present and future performances of the sustainability transition.

What is Social Platform’s role in the project?

Our role in the project is to make sure project results impact on institutional frameworks, governance mechanisms and policy at EU level.

We will engage with institutional stakeholders, policy-makers and other relevant actors through various advocacy activities to disseminate project results, making sure they have an impact on decision-making at EU level that supports the transition toward the sustainability paradigm suggested by SPES.