Sustainability Performances, Evidence and Scenarios (SPES)

PEP's role in the SPES project is key to ensuring that the insights developed are globally applicable. The SPES project, in line with the European Commission's (EC) Global Approach to Research and Innovation strategy, aims to create a stronger connection between Europe and the Global South, focusing on areas such as green transition, digital transformation, and sustainable growth projects. As such, through PEP's experience in supporting policy-engaged research in developing countries, SPES will be able to explore the application and implications of sustainability transition models in the Global South.

Advancing sustainable human development

Funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Programme, the SPES project aims to bridge productivity and growth with inclusiveness and environmental protection. Its mission is to produce impactful research that provides the necessary evidence to shape policies promoting shared prosperity and universal well-being. To achieve this, the project will concentrate on four foundational pillars of sustainable human development:

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

Rethinking measures of prosperity

For too long, policy decisions have focused too narrowly on GDP growth as the only measure of prosperity. Increasingly, there is a recognition that economic growth does not necessarily lead to social inclusion or environmental sustainability.

Although existing economic, social, and environmental policies in Europe aim to drive inclusive and sustainable growth, a knowledge gap persists in achieving this objective. To close this divide, PEP, in collaboration with its partners (see below), will help generate innovative evidence and pioneering concepts. This crucial information will bolster both European and global policies, aiding their transition toward achieving sustainable human development.

SPES research; question and methods  

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

The SPES project will tackle this question through extensive, collaborative research focusing on the following four axes:

1. Concepts and meanings, by dealing with the debates, theories, and narratives on sustainable human development, to find a common 'framework' for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders active in this field. 
2. Measurement frameworks and methods, by dealing with the debate on beyond GDP indicators to measure sustainable human development; 
3. Transition performances, by dealing with the analysis of past, current, and future performances of the sustainability transition; 
4. Policies, by dealing with possible policy implications for integrating productivity, equality, sustainability, and participation. 

SPES research approaches will combine desk-based, quantitative, and participatory methods while jointly performing literature and policy reviews, as well as statistical, case-study, and scenario analyses. The SPES project is expected to impact on policymaking and advocacy processes at different levels by reaching different target groups - EU policymakers; National/local policymakers; Qualified European and global stakeholders; Scientific

Funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101094551