Measures of Australia’s Progress: aspirations for our nation: a conversation with Australians about progress
Measures of Australia’s Progress: aspirations for our nation: a conversation with Australians about progress
- Author(s): Australian Bureau of Statistics,
- Published: 2012
- Publisher: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Abstract: Measuring progress – providing information about whether life is getting better – is perhaps the most important task a national statistical agency undertakes. Measuring progress has been a responsibility of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and its predecessors since colonial times. Then, the idea of progress and the measures required were somewhat simpler – wool exports and the size of the population, for instance. Over time, more complex measures were introduced, such as labour force measures and economic accounting, in response to social and economic disruption following the First and Second World Wars. More recently, global interest has focussed on measuring the social and environmental dimensions of progress; ensuring that official statistics measure what nations care about for national progress; and going beyond using Gross Domestic Product as the main indicator of progress. A decade ago the ABS made a major contribution with the release of the first issue of Measures of Australia’s Progress (ABS 2002). At that time, the Bulletin referred to Measures of Australia’s Progress (MAP) as a revolutionary set of indicators which provided great insights into how life is improving and at what rate. Ten years on, the ABS, guided by the MAP Expert Reference Group (ERG), has undertaken a national consultation to review MAP, ensuring it remains relevant to today’s society – that we are measuring what Australian society cares about. Proposing aspirations for national progress is the role of the Australian public, rather than that of the ABS. The role of the ABS has been to facilitate and synthesise the set of aspirational statements received from the consultation process. This consultation has therefore allowed the ABS to hear, listen and reflect on the aspirations that Australians hold for national progress. This publication provides an account of this consultation; how it was run and the feedback that has been received. It highlights the ABS’s use of social media to engage new audiences and provides a record of the broad consultation undertaken with individuals, organisations and governments across the nation. The publication also presents an overview of other key progress measurement initiatives, both national and international, and the aspirations that these projects articulate.