The document discusses rethinking societal progress to focus on citizen well-being rather than solely economic indicators like GDP. It proposes: 1. Rethinking the goals of progress to consider multi-dimensional well-being for all generations rather than single-minded growth. 2. Rethinking responsibility for progress from states alone to shared responsibility between public, private, and civil society actors. 3. Rethinking approaches to include bottom-up citizen input in defining well-being and coproducing knowledge on progress.

1.
Involving citizens and communities in securingInvolving citizens and communities in securing
societal progress for the well-being of allsocietal progress for the well-being of all
Samuel Thirion, Division of R&D for Social Cohesion
Council of Europe
Strasbourg, 18 November 2010
Council of Europe

2.
In the debate that involves today's governments and international organizations
on the limits of GDP and the need for new indicators of progress, the Council of
Europe publishes:
The Methodological Guide
«INVOLVING CITIZENS AND COMMUNITIES IN SECURING SOCIETAL
PROGRESS FOR THE WELL-BEING OF ALL »
By focusing on the individual and collective role of citizens the Council of
Europe approaches the debate from its own perspective:
that of democracy and human rights

3.
This guide is the product of five years of experiments and discussions with
stakeholders (municipalities, local stakeholders, businesses, schools, utilities,
regional authorities, statistical institutes, universities, NGOs)
in Europe and worldwide.
A major role has been played by the partnership with the cities of Mulhouse in
France, Timisoara, Romania, Rovereto, Italy
Paris XIV, the Walloon Region, and fifteen IWEPS
Walloon municipalities in Belgium, some companies
from Strasbourg, some African countries (Cape Verde and Gabon)
and exchanges with other partners in Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Colombia, United States (ASR)
Japan, Russia and Ukraine, with Pekea, the network
FAIR France, CIC USA, Sbilanciamoci Italy, etc..

4.
General Structure
Five parts:
• Rethinking well-being with citizens and communities (overview of existing
initiatives in the world and display of a first common framework)
Rethinking progress
• Rethinking reference frames (proposals to deepen the common framework)
New indicators as tools of societal progress
Rethinking methods
4 appendices (CD-ROM)
• Tools: Glossary, software, identification key,
I. Process: 35 sheets of examples in the world
II. Products of different phases of the process: indicators, evaluations, pilot
projects, action plans, etc..
III. Videos

5.
• Ask the social progress
• The need to rethink and develop (approaches, responsilities,
goals, mode of building of knowledges, tools, etc.)
• How to conceive and promote the process and cycles of the
social progress
Presentation
My purpose is not to do a report of the guide,impossible to do,
but it's to stress essential ideas around the tree following points:

6.
Rethinking the progress
I - Since the industrial revolution the progress of society has been designed on the
basis of a constant and very rapid growth in terms of wealth, mainly material
wealth (estimated over last 60 years by GDP).
This growth was made possible by the widespread use of non-renewable
resources, including fossil energies, leading, in a few centuries to the point of their
exhaustion.
Limits of this model regards:
 Dissatisfaction with this model because, despite the increase of wealth, much of
humanity is excluded, inequality is increasing and even in the richest countries
subjective indicators show a decrease of well-being, especially since 1980
 The impossibility to continue with this model and the need to establish as quickly
as possible an alternative model without massive use of non-renewable resources
 Need to get back to basics: what is progress? What should the progress of
societies tend towards? and how to make these changes?

7.
Questionner le progrès sociétal
II - Initiatives emerge everywhere in the word to make progress citizens and
communities. Some initiatives complete and renew public actions, others
define social goals. All of them reach:
To increase well-being of everybody in a territory (areas, town, etc.)
To join a responsibility of public and private entities
To build a sharing knowledge.
 Approaches and knowledges of these local intitiatives are
complementary . The guide offers a methodoligical approach.
It suggests the possibility to each player or entities in a same territory to
reflect together, to show similitaries to complete each other on the same
way for the future,

8.
Asking the societal progress
• III - In the framework of the Council of Europe:
The strategy of the social cohesion of the Council of : two main
changes:
• The goal of the progress : the well-being of all, generation of the
future including
• The social progress is a sharing responsibility: responsibility for the
well-being of all, this one is chosen by citizens.
It implies that the need to rethinking foundations of our society.

9.
The need to rethink
• Rethinking the goals of progress: from a single quantified objective, to a
multidimensional objective : the well-being of all
• Rethinking intellectual and cultural references of our society: well-being of all,
lifestyles, ways of reflection, guiding our choices
• Rethinking responsibility for progress: from the responsibility of the states
(welfare state) to the responsibility of society (well-fare society) actors 
co-responsibility
• Rethinking approaches: from a centralized approach to a dual approach, ascending
and descending
• Rethinking the construction of knowledge: from a knowledge produced by
specialized institutions to a co-produced knowledge by civil society within society
• Rethinking the tools to measure progress: from simple quantitative indicators to
the indicators measuring the path to progress
• Rethinking approaches to evaluation: From a goal-based evaluation to a
multidimensional evaluation
• Rethinking the modes of partnership: including agreements in the global project

10.
Rethinking the references
• The main challenge of the societal progress of this century is to reconcile
two goals inconceivable in appearance : the well-being of all to the
actual generations and the next generation (i.e. Ensure the well-fare
without counting on unrenewable resources)
• It requires a revision of the content about the meaning of the well-being,
but more a revision of the mode of development of this content.
• Present the content of the well- being is mainly defined by the market, by
ads,reducing the meaning of the well-being as the material well-
being.

11.
Rethinking approaches
• Now the well-being for all of us as goal of society can’t be only defined by the
market, neither by only an institution or specialists : the well-being is a
concept. Citizens have the responsibility to built the meaning of that way of
live, as a need of consultation and democracy.
• That was improved. Since five years, local experiences have taken this way.
Think the well-being for all us is clearly better, it provides more place to
the immaterial meaning of this well-being for the societal progress.
Human link, human community, personal and social balances, sense of the
live, sense of our input in our society, etc…are like treasures, to exploit and
develop.
• Urgent need of process between local and global trend.

12.
Rethinking the responsibility
• Process needed: built co responsibility for the well-being for all in
different spaces of live:
1) territories (town, areas, village),
2) institutions (companies, schools, hospitals, etc.),
3) voire thématiques (wealth, education, market…)
• Creation of a Group of Local Coordination to present every entities of
a space of live (first stage of that participating process)

13.
Rethinking the goal: the well-being for all
• Define the well-being with the citizens (second stage of the process):
3 questions in different groups (once quite similar, once different)
The well-being is like :
• Multidimensional: 8 big dimensions
• Interactif

14.
G- SENTIMENTS DE BIEN/MAL ÊTRE
G1- Tristesse/Joie
G2- Honte/Autoestime
G3- Frustrations/Satisfaction
F- EQUILIBRES PERSONNELS
F1- Equilibre mental et spirituel
F2- Stress/Temps disponible H- PARTICIPATION-CITOYENNETE
F3- Manqe d'autonomie/Liberté H1- Organisation associative
H2- Responsabilité
E- EQUILIBRES SOCIAUX H3- Initiatives
E1- Insecurité/Sécurité H4- Faciliter relations humaines
E2- Exclusion/Inclusion
E3- Inéquité/Equité
D- RELATIONS HUMAINES
D1- Respect
D2- Solidarité
D3- Convivialité
D4- Famille
D5- Couple/ relations amoureuses
D6- Amitié
D7- 0
C- RELATIONS AVEC LES INSTITUTIONS
C1- Appui des institutions
C2- Qualité des relations avec les institutions
C3- Concertation/démocratie
C4- Bonne gestion publique
A- ACCES AUX MOYENS DE VIE B- CADRE DE VIE
A1- Revenu B1- Infrastructure
A2- Emploi B2- Environnement
A3- Alimentation B3- Lieux de rencontre et loisirs
A4- Santé B4- Ville à taille humaine
A5- Logement B5- 0
A6- Education/formation B6- 0
A7- Transport
A8- Communications
A9- Culture
A10- Loisirs
The 8 dimensions of the well-being for all

15.
The guide proposes indicators of progress, for the quality:
• A value of quantity and a way to progress towards the goal and each
level
• Introduction of a scale of different signification
 Produce indicators to do a link between knowledge and actions
Rethinking instruments of mesure

16.
Transversal scale for the indicators of progress
Situation
satisfaisante
mais sans
avoir atteint
l’objectif du
progrès
5-
Situation
Ideal
4
Situation
good
3-
Situation
Medium
2
Situation
Bad
1
Situation
Very bad
Situation de
risque de
dégradation
en chaîne
et/ou d’irré-
versibilité
L’objectif de
progrès est
atteint mais
sans garantie
de sa
durabilité
L’objectif de
progrès est
atteint en
ayant la
garantie de
sa durabilité
o
Situation
non
satisfaisante
mais sans
risque à
court terme
Echelle applicable au progrès dans le bien être de tous mais aussi au progrès dans l’état et la
pression sur les ressources et dans les indicateurs de progrès dans les actions (suivi de leur
réalisation, évaluation d’impact).
Rethinking instruments of measure

17.
Scale of transversal signification
for indicators of progress
Situation
satisfaisante
mais sans
avoir atteint
l’objectif du
progrès
5-
Situation
Ideal
4
Situation
good
3-
Situation
meddium
2
Situation
bad
1
Situation
Very bad
Situation de
risque de
dégradation
en chaîne
et/ou d’irré-
versibilité
L’objectif de
progrès est
atteint mais
sans garantie
de sa
durabilité
L’objectif de
progrès est
atteint en
ayant la
garantie de
sa durabilité
o
Situation
non
satisfaisante
mais sans
risque à
court terme
Echelle applicable au progrès dans le bien être de tous mais aussi au progrès
dans l’état et la pression sur les ressources et dans les indicateurs de progrès
dans les actions (suivi de leur réalisation, évaluation d’impact).
Rethinking instruments of measure

18.
Critères de mal-être/bien-être
situations pires
Définies avec les
expresions négatives
(mal-être) des critères
Scale of values
Par combinaison des variables binaires
Critères binaires
5- Situation ideal4- Siuation
good
3- Situation
medium
2- Situation
bad
1- Situation very
bad
Echellons
situations meilleures
Définiesavec les
expressions positives
(bien-être) des critères
Rédaction de chaque échelon
Validation par les citoyens
Champ
de valeurs
Elaboration des intervalles de valeurs correspondant à chaque
échelon: cas des indicateurs de progrès dans le bien-être.
Rethinking instruments of measure

19.
Building and writing indicators of progress for the well-being for all
Echelle Situation très
mauvaise
Situation
mauvaise
Situation
moyenne
Situation bonne Situation idéale
Expression
générale
N'a pas et n'a pas
les conditions pour
l'obtenir
N'a pas mais a les
conditions pour
l'obtenir
A les conditions
pour avoir et a
mais sans qualité
A et a des
conditions de
qualité
La qualité est
assurée dans le
long terme grâce à
mesures
spécifiques
Exemple: santé Est malade et n'a
pas accès au
système de santé
Est malade mais a
accès aux
systèmes de santé
Est en bonne santé
et a accès aux
systèmes de santé
mais sans qualité
Bonne santé et
sytèmes de santé
de qualité
Idem avec qualité
assurée dans le
long terme
Critères de
conditions
Non Oui Oui Oui Oui
Critères
d'obtention
Non Non Oui Oui Oui
Critères de qualité Non Non Non Oui Oui
Critères de
durabilité
Non Non Non Non Oui
Rédaction d’indicateurs qui soit adaptée à des enquêtes
individuelles ou collectives et permettre des agrégations entre
différents niveaux territoriaux
Rethinking instruments of measure

20.
Rethinking instruments of measure
• External evaluation to co evaluation between different promoters,
recipients (founders)
• Estimation of specially goals : their contribution to the capacity of the
society to ensure the well being of all without nonrenewable
resources.
•  co-évaluation multicritères.

21.
Rethinking modes for the production of know ledges
From a dissociating knowledge to a sharing knowledge:
• AFTER: building goals, way of progress, knowing situations, knowing the
result of actual actions
• DEVELOP a sharing knowledge on possibilities: réflexion prospective,
innovations, strategies and action plan.
 Thinking about :
The co responsibility.
Points of locking and important points to reach the well-being
for all
Different social questions : employment, education,
consommation, production, cultural dialogues, links between
generations, etc.

22.
Rethinking modes of partnership
To allow the coresponsibility to realize this project :
•Pool the knowledge and reflexion concerning the resources: for examples:
resources on citizens times – budgetaries resources (participative budgets )
•Build a common project understable by all and where each one has a place
•Develop agreements on the principle again responsibility

23.
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

24.
1- set up of
coordination group
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

25.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

26.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
3- Evaluating/
measuring
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

27.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
3- Evaluating/
measuring
4-
Planning /
comparing
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

28.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
3- Evaluating/
measuring
5- decision /
commitment
4-
Planning /
comparing
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

29.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
3- Evaluating/
measuring
6-
Acting /
implementation
5- decision /
commitment
4-
Planning /
comparing
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

30.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
3- Evaluating/
measuring
6-
Acting /
implementation
7 – re-evaluate (ex post)
5- decision /
commitment
4-
Planning /
comparing
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

31.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
3- Evaluating/
measuring
6-
Acting /
implementation
7 – re-evaluate (ex post)
5- decision /
commitment
4-
Planning /
comparing
PROGRESS
CYCLE
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

32.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
3- Evaluating/ measuring
8-review /
capitalizing
6-
Acting /
implementation
7 – re-evaluate (ex
post)
5- decision /
commitment
4-
Planning /
comparingPROGRESS
CYCLE
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

33.
2-
Defining
the objective of
progress
(indicators)
1- set up of
coordination group
3- Evaluating/ measuring
8-review /
capitalizing
6-
Acting /
implementation
7 – re-evaluate (ex
post)
5- decision /
commitment
4-
Planning /
comparingPROGRESS
CYCLE
CONSULTATION
CYCLE
Common framework of progress processes
The 8 phases of the process developed involving citizens / communities

34.
The guide provides a methodological framework for thinking
locally while also opening opportunities: articulation between
different territorial levels and rising to higher levels (regional,
national, European) reinterpretation of the major themes of
society allowing for include reflections on them. Need a wider
policy framework: the role of the particular charter of social
responsibility and shared European Action Plan for social
cohesion.
Conslusions

35.
A collaborative web site
https://spiral.cws.coe.int
Thank you for your attention