Why a panel on social progress?
There are many international expert panels on key global issues ranging from climate change and biodiversity to chemical pollution or nuclear proliferation. A decade ago, in 2014, a group of social scientists wondered: Why is there no panel about the promotion of social justice, about the search for a general set of better institutions and better policies — in a nutshell, for a better society? Many policy issues examined by the existing panels have deep societal roots in the economy, in politics, and in cultures and values. Addressing these deeper factors would ease the search for solutions in many domains. Such questioning turned out to be widely shared among social science scholars, and motivated the launch of the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) in 2015.
The IPSP is an independent bottom-up initiative, first of scholars and thinkers who wanted to act, and now widely open to doers, change-makers, and innovators. It is complementary to many ongoing efforts by various groups and organizations with which it is collaborating. The United Nations are pushing the ambitious Agenda 2030 and its associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has launched multiple initiatives for a “better life”, for “inclusive growth”, as well as more technical efforts such as the fight against tax evasion; the World Bank has developed multiple approaches against poverty and inequality, and is not afraid of listening to the “voices of the poor” or of “rethinking the social contract”; the International Labour Organization (OIL) articulates an agenda for the promotion of “decent work” and “social justice”. These important efforts are just a few examples in a long list.
The International Panel on Social Progress distinguishes itself from other initiatives by combining three characteristics :
1) First, the Panel seeks to examine not just policy issues for the medium term but also structural and systemic issues for the long term. In other words, it is not afraid of asking existential questions about values, capitalism, democracy, inequalities, religions, technology and so on. A combination of intellectual caution, political conformism, and vested interests often prevent such existential questions from being explicitly discussed.
2) Second, the Panel mobilizes a uniquely wide set of perspectives, from all the relevant sectors and disciplines as well as from all the continents. A substantial effort is made to create a global and intersectoral collective intelligence for action by gathering all relevant experience and expertise on the best ideas and initiatives that can inspire the world and lead to better societies.
3) Third, the Panel promotes solutions to the real “change-makers” of society, namely, the many leaders and citizens who act in their organizations and communities at all levels and contribute to advance the social progress agenda. Social progress has always been, in the long run, a bottom-up affair, and ideas are a key fuel for its engine. Given the urgency and magnitude of the challenges, only large coalitions of diverse actors will scale-up the most inspiring initiatives to push for positive transitions.
The focus on social progress
The focus on “social progress” deserves some explanations, as the notion of progress has suffered from use and abuse by a particular elite who, since the industrial revolution, found it natural to lead the world according to its privileges and prejudices. The Panel refers to “social progress” to send a message. Social change is not a neutral matter, and, even if there are many conflicting views on how to conceive of a good or just society, this Panel takes the view that a compass is needed to parse the options that actors and decision-makers face. Moreover, the beginning of the 21st century leaves most observers of society with a general sense of disarray and disorientation. The message of this Panel is a positive message for action: we can do better, solutions do exist, change can be achieved by wide coalitions of actors.
Find out more about the IPSP 2 (2024-2027):
Find out more about the previous Panel : IPSP 1 (2014-2019)