Howdowe

measure

wellbeing?

RethinkingtheHumanDevelopmentIndex

International

sciencecouncil

Theglobalvoiceforscience

?InternationalScienceCouncil,2025.

Tocitethisreport:Sud,M.(2025,July21).Howdowemeasurewellbeing?RethinkingtheHumanDevelopmentIndex.InternationalScienceCouncil.

DOI:10.24948/2025.08

Fundingacknowledgement:UNDPHumanDevelopmentReportOffice

Author:MeghaSud,InternationalScienceCouncil

Contributions:Seethefulllistofconsultedexpertsin

AnnexI

I

Projectconsultant:DavidKaplan

Design:

Mr.Clinton

Coverphotos:

Unaihuiziphotography

,

MesquitaFMS

,

Savaryn

,

DragonImages

,

hadynyah

,

RichardChaff

,

LightFieldStudios

,

ZoranZeremski

,

Sapsiwai

,

LittleBee80

,

Anna39

,

CaronBadkin

AbouttheInternationalScienceCouncil

TheISCisaninternationalnon-governmentalorganizationwithaunique

globalmembershipthatbringstogether250internationalscientificunionsandassociations,nationalandregionalscientificorganizationsincludingscience

academies,researchcouncils,regionalscientificorganizations,international

federationsandsocieties,andacademiesofyoungscientistsandassociations.

TheISCworksatthegloballeveltocatalysechangebyconveningscientific

expertise,adviceandinfluenceonissuesofmajorimportancetobothscienceandsociety.

Contents

Foreword4

Introduction6

Projectbackground8

Methodology11

Whatwehavelearntfromtheconsultations12

1.PerceivedpurposeandvalueofcurrentHDI 12

2.IdeasonmodificationofthecurrentHDI:alternativeindicators

and/orweightingofthecurrentdimensions 17

3.Inclusionofnewdimensions 23

4.Exploringpotentialnewdirections:reflectingvaryingpreferences 31

Concludingremarks 33

Wheredowegofromhere?Optionsforprogress34

AnnexI:ProjectSteeringGroup35

AnnexII:Listofconsultedexperts36

Foreword

Atatimeofglobalpolycrisis–markedbyecologicalbreakdown,deepening

inequalities,andprofoundtechnologicalandsocialtransformations–ourshared

understandingofwellbeingandhumandevelopmentdemandsurgentreconsideration.Foroverthreedecades,theHumanDevelopmentIndex(HDI)hasservedasavital

signalinthediscourseondevelopment,aboldattempttoshiftattentionfromincometopeople’scapabilitiesandchoices.Yettoday,wemustask:doesthisfoundational

measurestillreflectthecomplexityandurgencyoftheworldwelivein?

Thispaper,aresultofaprojectoftheInternationalScienceCouncilandtheUNDPHumanDevelopmentReportOffice,isatimelyandnecessarycontributiontothatquestion.Drawingonconsultationswithaglobalcommunityofexperts,itoffersastartingpointsofareassessmentofhowwedefineandmeasurehumanwellbeinginthe21stcentury.

TheInternationalScienceCouncil(ISC)isuniquelypositionedtoleadsuchareflection.Astheglobalvoiceforscience,bringingtogetherover250internationalscientific

unions,academies,researchcouncilsandassociations,theISCservesasacriticalplatformforinterdisciplinarycollaboration,scienceadvocacy,andscience-policy

engagement.Itscommitmenttomobilizingscientificknowledgeforthepublicgoodisevidentinthispaper,whichharnessesinsightsfromeconomicsandothersocialsciences,sustainabilityscience,andbeyondtoilluminatenewpathsforrethinkingandmeasuringhumandevelopment.

Theworkrecognizesthatmeasurementisneverneutral.Metricsshapethe

conversationswehave,thepolicieswedesign,andthefuturesweimagine.Asthisreportdemonstrates,capturinghumandevelopmentrequiresnotjustbetterdata,

butbetterdeliberation–moreinclusive,participatory,andattunedtodiversevalues,livedexperiences,andevolvingrisks.Metricsshouldreflectallthesedimensionsofhumandevelopment.

Importantly,thisisnotacalltodiscardtheHDI,buttobuilduponitsstrengths.

Thereflectionsgatheredhereilluminateapathtowardamorenuancedanddynamicindex–onethatacknowledgeselementssuchasagency,inequality,sustainability,

culture,andinterdependenceasessentialcomponentsofdevelopment.Itisan

invitationtocapturekeyconditionsforhumandevelopment,suchassocialinclusion

Foreword4

Foreword5

andovercomingpolarization.Italsoprovidesanopportunitytoreimaginehumandevelopmentasaliving,evolvingframework–onecapableofguidingactioninanincreasinglyuncertainworld.

WehopethispaperwillserveasaninputandabasisforfurtherdeliberationastheglobalcommunitystrivestomovebeyondGDPtowardmetricsthatbetterservethetransformativeneedsofourtime.

SalvatoreAricò

CEO,InternationalScienceCouncil

Introduction

Thereisabroadlyacknowledgedandurgentneedintheinternationalcommunitytodevelopmethodologyformeasuringsustainabilitytransformationsthatcanintegratehumanwellbeing,environmentalsustainabilityandequitableeconomicdevelopment,

asreflectedinseveralinitiativesunderwaytoexamineoptionsthatprovideamore

holisticviewofthecurrentstateanddirectionofchangeinsocietiesthanthecurrentlyubiquitousrelianceonGrossDomesticProduct(GDP)canafford.

TheconceptofhumandevelopmentandtheassociatedHumanDevelopmentIndex(HDI)1

havebeenfrontrunnersinthiseffort,showingwhatalongstandinginitiativebasedon

asolidconceptualframeworkcanachieveintermsofprovidinganeasy-to-understand

measurethatisasnapshotofprogressinhuman-centreddevelopment.Thecentral

premiseofthehumandevelopmentparadigmhasbeenthatconventionalmeasuresof

progressfocusedonincomearenotsufficienttopromoteandmeasurehumanwellbeing,

andthatprogressshouldinsteadbeseenasaprocessofenlargingpeople’schoices

andwellbeing,aswellasenhancingtheircapabilities.Thisunderpinningconceptwas

accompaniedbyanindex,whichhasprovidedasimpleproxyforameasureofwhatis

inherentlymultidimensional,forpolicy-makers,activistsandacademicsinassessingtrends,evaluatingandcomparingcurrentsituationsandmakingdecisionsonand

recommendationsforimprovement.Theideaofhumandevelopment,however,hasalwaysbeenmuchmorecomplexandfar-reachingthantheHDI,whichnecessarilyincludesgeneralizationandsummarization.Keycapabilitiesareinstrumentalizedin

theHDIbytheinclusionofproxiesforthreeimportantendsofdevelopment–accesstohealth,educationandpurchasingpower–andtheassumptionthat,empoweredbythesecapabilities,amongothers,individualscanachievetheirdesiredstateofbeing.

TheHDIhasbeenacentralelementoftheHumanDevelopmentReportsinprovidingasinglenumericalindexthatcanbeusedtocomparethelevelofhumanwellbeing

amongcountriesortomonitoronecountry’sprogressovertime,butithashad

itsshareofcriticism.Overthepast30years,theUnitedNationsDevelopment

Programme(UNDP)hasinresponsebeenreviewingandre-articulatingthehumandevelopmentparadigmtoreflecttheevolvingdevelopmentlandscapeaswellas

perspectivesfromresearchandotherquarters.Thefamilyofhumandevelopment

1The

HDI

isasummarymeasureofaverageachievementinkeydimensionsofhumandevelopment:alongand

healthylife,beingknowledgeableandhavingadecentstandardofliving.TheHDIisthegeometricmeanof

normalizedindicesforeachofthethreedimensions.Thehealthdimensionisassessedbylifeexpectancyatbirthandtheeducationdimensionismeasuredbymeanofyearsofschoolingforadultsaged25yearsandmoreand

expectedyearsofschoolingforchildrenofschool-enteringage.Thestandardoflivingdimensionismeasuredbygrossnationalincome(GNI)percapita.TheHDIusesthelogarithmofincometoreflectthediminishing

importanceofincomewithincreasingGNI.ThescoresforthethreeHDIdimensionindicesarethenaggregatedintoacompositeindexusingthegeometricmean.

Introduction6

Introduction7

metricshasbeenevolvingandexpandingaswell–theHDIasapartialindexofbasiccapabilitiesessentialforwellbeingiscomplementedbyabroadersetofindicesandstatisticsthatgiveafulleraccountofthestateandprospectsofhumandevelopment,includingtheInequality-adjustedHDI(introducedin2010),thePlanetaryPressures-adjustedHDI(introducedin2020),theGenderEmpowermentMeasureandthe

Gender-RelatedDevelopmentIndex(1995–2010),theGenderInequalityIndex(2010onwards),theGenderDevelopmentIndex(2014onwards),theHumanPovertyIndex(1997–2010)andtheMultidimensionalPovertyIndex(2010onwards).

Therecontinuetoberapidchangestothedifferentdimensionsofhumandevelopmentandourunderstandingandexperienceofthem,enabledbymajoradvancesinscienceandtechnologyandnewthinkingonsustainabilityoverthepastthreedecades,whichremainrelevanttotheUNDP’shumandevelopmentnarrativeandmeasurement.

Weareatacrucialjunctureinthemultilateralpolicytrajectory,morethanmid-

waythroughthe2030agenda,facingmultipleglobalcrises,highandincreasing

uncertaintiesinenvironmental,economic,socialandgeopoliticalspheres,coupled

withgrowinginequitiesandpolaritythatweakenourchancesofachievingurgently

neededjusttransitions.Thetimeisripetoupdatethetools,concepts,processesandinstitutionsthatguidethinkingandactiononensuringwellbeingiftheyaretomeet

currentchallenges.

Sciencehasandshallcontinuetoplayakeyroleinidentifyingtheelementsof

wellbeing,summarizingthisinmeasurementsandprovidingpolicy-makerswithatoolthatisbothusefulandmeaningful.Socialsciencemustparticularlyfindaplaceatthetabletobeabletobringlearningoninequality,sustainability,participation,resilience

andothervitaltopicstoinformdevelopments.Ifawellbeingmetricistobemeaningfulitmustreadilycomprehensibleandsimultaneouslyabletoexpressthecomplex

andinterconnectedrealityitrepresents.Canametricembodyasystemsapproachthatcapturesinterconnectionsinhuman,naturalandtechnologicalsystems?Thisquestioncannotbeaddressedeffectivelywithoutstrongcontributionsfromglobalmultidisciplinaryandtransdisciplinaryscience.

Projectbackground

TheISCandtheUNDPhavebeenrunningajointprojectonRethinkingHuman

Developmenttoprovideanopportunityforcriticalreviewandre-articulationof

thehumandevelopmentparadigm.ThispartnershipranuntilJune2023underthe

presentagreementandwasaimedatbringingtheperspectivesoftheglobalscientificcommunitytothevitaldiscussiononhumandevelopmenttofeedfreshperspectivesandadvancesfromvariousdisciplinesintothisongoingdialogue.

PhaseIoftheprojectin2020–2021focusedonbringingvariedinsightstotheconceptualunderstandingofhumandevelopment,resultinginmorethan70

contributions(interviews,essaysandonlinesubmissions),anonlineplatformandareportcontainingasynthesisessay,whichprovideskeydirectionsofthinkingontheexpandednotionofhumanwellbeing.

PhaseIIoftheprojectin2023involvedasimilarconsultationonmetricstomeasurehumandevelopmentandhowtomovetowardsexperimentalindicesthatreflect

presentandemergingdimensionsofhumandevelopment.

ConversationsonRethinkingHumanDevelopment

InphaseIofthisproject,a

globaldialogue

wasco-organizedbytheISCandUNDPtoseekviews,inputsandaspirationsaboutwhathumandevelopmentmeanstodayandhowitcanevolveinthefuture.Thisresultedinrich

discussions,clusteredaroundnineinterconnecteddirectionsforexploringmultiplenarratives:

1.Afreshstarttorethinkingthemeaningofdevelopmentthatisfreefromthehistoricalbaggageandmultipleconnotationsoftheterm

2.Avisionaryrethinkingofourhumanityandwhatitmeanstobehumanintoday’sworld

3.Strengtheninginstitutionsandaccountability

4.Humandevelopmentwithinplanetaryboundaries

5.Redressinginequalityandpromotingsocialcohesion

6.Democraticdeliberationthatisneededforresilientsocio-ecologicalsystems

7.Makingthedigitalageworkforhumandevelopment

8.Anewnarrativeon‘value’

9.Reinvigoratingandleveragingtheroleofscientificknowledge

Projectbackground8

Projectbackground9

BuildingupontheconceptualunderstandingofhumandevelopmentfromthephaseIconsultation,phaseIIoftheprojectattemptedtoanswerthefollowingkeyquestions:

?Whatmodificationsdoweneedtomaketotheexistinghumandevelopment

indicesasbetter‘signallingdevices’thatprovidepolicy-makerswithinformationtoevaluatechoicesandassessdevelopmentperformance?

?Whatnewmetricsdoweneedtoexperimentwithtocaptureothercritical

dimensionsofhumandevelopmentandthenewhumandevelopmentparadigm?

?Howcanweconstructthemodifiedandnewhumandevelopmentmetrics?

Overtheyears,severalmodificationshavebeenmadetotheHDI.SomeweresimplechangestotheindicatorsincludedintheHDI;someweretheintroductionofnew

measuresofhumandevelopmenttocomplementtheHDIandcaptureadditional

dimensionsofdevelopmentsuchaspoverty,inequalities,genderandenvironment.

Otherindices,statisticaltablesandstatisticaldashboardshavealsobeenaddedtoprovideamorecomprehensiveperspectiveontherelevantdatatoassesscountriesonhumandevelopment.

However,therehasbeenagrowinginterestinprovidingamorecomprehensive

setofmeasurementsthatcaptureothercriticaldimensionsofhumandevelopment.

TheUNDP’scurrentthinkingonmodifyingandexpandingitshumandevelopmentmetrics,summarizedbelow,islargelyconsistentwiththenineinterconnection

directionsarticulatedinthephaseIsynthesisreport.

First,theHumanDevelopmentReportOffice(HDRO)islookingtointroducehumandevelopmentmetricstoaccountforwhatthe2019HumanDevelopmentReport

referredtoas‘enhancedcapabilities,’whicharebecomingmoreessentialto

participateinsocial,politicalandeconomiclife.Thelife-courseapproach,whichhasbeenappliedbytheUNDPtoanalyseyouthvulnerabilitiesandgenderinequalities,

couldbeappliedmorebroadlytocapturingenhancedcapabilities(reflectedindirections1,7and9inphase1,seeboxabove).

Second,agency–people’sabilitytohavecontrolovertheirownlives–isacrucialpartofhumandevelopmentaccordingtotheconceptualbackgroundtheHDIisrootedin.

Thecurrenthumandevelopmentmetricsspeaktoasetofcapabilitiesessentialfor

basicwellbeing,buttheydonotencompassmanyofthethingsthatenhanceagency(reflectedindirections3,5,6and8).

Projectbackground10

Third,thecurrenthumandevelopmentmetricsreveallittleaboutthesustainability

ofhumandevelopmentinanerawhenenvironmentalsustainabilityisacentraland

urgentconcernforpolicy-makersandcitizens.TheUNDPHDROrecognizestheneedtoworkwithexpertsfromdifferentdisciplines–includingsustainabilityscienceandearthsystemscience–tobettercaptureenvironmentalandsustainabilityfactorsin

humandevelopmentmetrics(reflectedindirections2,4and9).

Withthesepointsinmind,theUNDPHDROisexploringapathtoanexpandedsetofhumandevelopmentmetricstoreflecttheevolvinglandscape,butwhichisalsobuiltonafoundationofreaffirmingtheoriginalintentofthehumandevelopmentapproach–assimplemeasuresofhowcountriesfareonindicatorsthatrelatetohuman

developmentandtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.

Methodology

TheISCapproachedalistofexpertsfromarangeofbackgrounds(seeAnnexIforafulllist)togatherinsightsintotheoptionsforenhancingmultidimensionalwellbeing

measurementregardingtheHDI.Thetargetedlistincludedindividualexpertsfromthe

fieldwhohavebeenactiveindebatessurroundingtheHDI,expertsfromorganizations

whohavebeenworkingonmultidimensionalwellbeingindices,representativesofdisciplinaryassociationsandscientificprogrammesthatworkonrelatedsubjects(e.g.poverty,inequality,participatoryresearch,dataissues,sustainabilityand

transdisciplinaryscience),policyadvisorsanddevelopmentpractitioners.

Around50expertsweresentaquestionnairewiththeaimofgatheringtheirviews

onthepurposetheHDIservesandshouldserve,alternativedimensions,alternativemeasuresforexistingdimensions,weightingofdimensionsandpotentialnew

directions,includinggaugingpeople’sownprioritiesconcerningwellbeing.Atotalof17responseswerereceived.Oneimportantfactorthatrestrictedtheresponserate

(asevidencedbyresponsestotheinitialrequestorfollow-upcommunication)was

that,whilethisexerciseattemptedtobroadenthediscussiontoexpertsnotprimarilyincludedinsuchdiscussions,non-statisticalexpertsandthosewhohadnotalreadybeenrelatingtotheHDIintheirworkwerereluctanttoengageinadiscussionontheHDIgiventhetechnicalcomplexityandalreadyrichworkassociatedwiththisarea.

Thishighlightsthechallengeoftranslatingvaluabletheoreticalandconceptualinsights

onwellbeingfromacrossdisciplinesintobettermeasurementswithoutthebridgingtechnicalexpertise.

Followingthisinitialconsultation,twelvein-depthinterviewswerecarriedoutvirtuallyorinperson.Fourofthesewerefollow-upinterviewswithrespondentswhohadfilled

inthequestionnaire,astheyhadadditionalinsightstocontribute.Theseinterviewsfollowedthebroadstructureofthequestionnairesentoutinthefirstphasebut

includedadditionalquestionstoexploreemergingideas.

Theoutcomesoftheseconsultationsaresummarizedbelow.Thesewerediscussedataworkshopwithanexpertgroup,comprisingtheSteeringGroup2oftheprojectaswellasafewadditionalselectedexperts,3tofeedintotheUNDPHDROeffortstofashionareinvigoratedHDIand/orcomplementarymeasures.

2

AnnexI

3

AnnexII

Methodology11

Whatwelearntfromtheconsultations

1.PerceivedpurposeandvalueofcurrentHDI

AMULTIDIMENSIONALMEASUREASANALTERNATIVETOGDP:Almostall

respondentsacknowledgedthatthemainpurposeoftheHDIhasbeentoprovidean

alternativemeasureofwellbeingtoincomeorconsumptionpercapita.Asacomposite

measurethatincludesnon-economicdimensions,ithasbeenrelativelysuccessfulin

providingalong-runningalternativemeansofsignallingprogress,thoughithasnotdislodgedGDPasthesinglereigningbenchmarkinmanypolicyarenas.

ENABLINGINTER-COUNTRYCOMPARISONSANDTRACKINGPERFORMANCE

OVERTIME:AnothercommonresponsewasthattheHDIprovesusefulinprovidingabroadsketchoftheperformanceofcountriesintermsofwellbeing–both

comparisonsovertimeandbetweencountriesatagiventime.Asonerespondent

stated,itis‘usefultoelaborateaworldrankingofdevelopment,toclassifycountriesandtoanalyseevolutions.’

However,itwasalsonotedthat,forseveralpolicydecisionswherecountrycomparisonsandclassificationarerequired(suchasallocationofOfficialDevelopmentAssistance(ODA),membershipofpoliticalforumssuchastheG20orG7andcontributions

towardsmultilateralbodies),incomelevelcontinuestobeused4bydecision-makersasthemainmarkerofacountry’sstatusandtheobligationsandentitlementsassociatedwithit.

Furthermore,theHDIrankinglistalsofailstorecognizetherelationshipsbetween

countriesandhowhigherrankinginonecountrymayinpartbedrivinglowrankingin

another.Acaseinpointisthathistoricalcarbonemissionsfromthecountriesofthe

GlobalNorthareimpactingdevelopmentoutcomesandpotentialinmanycountriesof

theGlobalSouth.Moreover,whiletheHDImeasuresbasicneeds,itdoesnotcontrol

fortheothersideofthecoinbyincludingissuessuchasoverconsumptioninthe

high-incomecountriesandbyindividuals.Onerespondentnotedthatmacroeconomic

structuralissuesatthenationallevelcouldalsohaveclearimpactsonhuman

developmentanditsstability,andinter-countrycomparisonshouldincludesuchdiscussionsratherthanironingoverthembyfocusingonindividuals.

4DifferentthresholdsareusedbymultilateralorganisationssuchastheUnitedNations,theWorldBank,OECDandIMF.

Whatwelearntfromtheconsultations12

Whatwelearntfromtheconsultations13

TherewassomeconcernexpressedaroundwhethertheHDIhasthesamelevelof

relevancewhenitcomestocountriesoftheGlobalNorthandSouth.Forhigher-

incomecountries,theonlydifferencesinmeasuretendtooccuraroundvariationsinlifeexpectancy,whicharesmallanddecreasing.ThisislinkedtothefactthattheHDIcomprisesafewandverybasicindicators.Finally,itwasmentionedseveraltimesthattheHDIshouldalsoattempttoaddressintra-countrycomparisontobemorerelevant,asnational-levelcomparisonshaveamorelimitedimpactinprovidingpolicysignals

foreffectingchangeontheground.

PROVIDINGACOMPREHENSIVEMEASUREMENTOFHUMANDEVELOPMENT:SeveralresponsessawthepurposeandpotentialoftheHDIasmorefar-reaching,inthatitrepresentsanefforttoimplementamultidimensionalideaofwellbeing

andseekstoenableaholisticformofdevelopmentthatconsidersseveralaspectsofindividualandsocietalprogress(social,political,environmental,andemotional

andmental),andtheypointedoutthattheHDIhasseriouslimitationsinthisregard.

Thesimplicityoftheindicatorthatcontributestoitsappealalsorendersitless

impactfulinrepresentingandeffectingrealchange.Moreover,itscurrentlackof

criticaldimensions–includingsustainability,inequalityandsecurity–meansitfallsshortofsupportingtheUNDPHDROgoal‘tocontributetowardstheexpansionof

opportunities,choiceandfreedom.’5

SpecificmentionwasmadeoftheinabilityoftheHDItoprovideanyideaof

inequalitieswithinthecountry,theintersectionsoftheseinequalities(e.g.betweengender,ethnicity,religion,disability,sexuality,class,casteandincome)andthe

trade-offsandtensionsbetweenpolicychoiceswithrelationtoinequalitiesandto

theenvironment.AstheHDImeasuresthepopulation-levelaverageofdimensionsitconsiders,itdoesnotshowanuancedpictureofhumandevelopment,asaveragescannotcapturethedisparitiesamongandberepresentativeoftheentirepopulation.Itwasalsonotedthat,thoughtheInequality-adjustedHDIaccountsforinequalityinthethreedimensionsbeingmeasured,otherimportantdisparitiesmayexist,such

asculturaldiversity,genderdisparityandpersonalorculturaldifferencesinvaluingwellbeing,andthatsuchdifferencescouldbecapturedbyusingamicro-level

approachandcollectingsubjectivedata.

5

/about-hdro

.

Whatwelearntfromtheconsultations14

ANOPERATIONALIZATIONOFSEN’SCAPABILITYAPPROACH:AfewrespondentssawtheHDIasanindicatorofwellbeingthatadoptsAmartyaSen’scapability

approach,whichstatesthathumanwellbeingshouldbeevaluatedintermsofthe

freedoms,opportunitiesandcapabilitiestoachievevariousfunctions,reachvaluablestatesofbeingandperformvaluableacts.Itisanexampleofthewayinwhicha

conceptualandtheoreticalfoundationcanbeembodiedinasimplemeasurethat

canbewidelycommunicated.Itdoes,however,representanarrowviewofwhattheconceptentails,asanyindexnecessarilywould.

Whilethecapabilityapproachhasspaceforconsiderationofemergingconcernsandincreasinglyuniversalpolicygoalssuchasenvironmentalsustainability,theHDIdoesnotreflectthisevolution.Inthewordsofonerespondent,‘thenumbersdonotreflecttheinterestingdevelopmentstorywhichpreventstheHDIfromservingitspurposeincreatingamomentumaroundthediscussionondevelopment.’ThepastfewHumanDevelopmentReports,forexample,havebeencentreduponcomplexideassuchasagency,valuesandplanetaryboundaries,6uncertainty7andinequality.8ThecoreHDIisanincreasinglynarrowrepresentationoftheconcernsthathumandevelopment

literatureisengagingwith,inlightofreal-worldissues.

ASIGNALFORPOLICYEFFECTIVENESSORNEEDFORPOLICYINTERVENTION:

TheusefulnessoftheHDItomonitorcommitmentstowardssocialandeconomic

improvementsatnational,regionalandgloballevelandasaguidetocorrectexisting

governmentpolicyfromacomparativeperspectivewasmentionedinafewresponses.

However,whenaskedaboutexamplesoftheHDIbeingusedinpolicyadvocacyordecision-makingintheirexperience,noaffirmativeanswerswereforthcomingin

thisconsultation9beyonduseinreportwritingandothercommunication.AcommonreasonstatedforthiswasthattheHD