National statistical institutes (NSIs) are central to redefining progress, yet most remain geared toward measuring growth and productivity rather than ecological and social wellbeing. This policy calls for transforming — and, where absent, establishing — NSIs as democratic public institutions that co-produce data with citizens, social partners, and local governments to guide a post-growth transition.
In many countries, statistical systems remain fragmented or under-resourced, leaving governments dependent on external consultants or donor-driven indicators. Establishing autonomous, publicly accountable NSIs is therefore a foundational step toward national data sovereignty and democratic planning. Where such institutes already exist, the goal is to reorient their purpose and practice away from growth measurement and toward multidimensional wellbeing, equality, and ecological resilience. Moving beyond technocratic measurement, this proposal envisions participatory statistics — where NSIs are mandated to convene deliberative councils composed of civil society groups, unions, academic institutions, and community representatives to define what counts as progress, how it is measured, and whose realities are made visible.
This could involve establishing national councils on beyond GDP under statistical offices to deliberate on new indicators and validate methodologies through public review; institutionalising citizen-generated data as an official input to national statistics, building on participatory poverty assessments and community-led surveys; creating pathways for countries without NSIs to establish them through regional cooperation, capacity-building, and international technical support, ensuring independence from corporate and elite capture; introducing transparency charters requiring open access to disaggregated data on income, time use, and ecological impact, enabling unions, researchers, and citizens to hold institutions accountable; and aligning national statistical strategies with rights-based and feminist economics frameworks, ensuring visibility for unpaid care work, environmental costs, and inequality.
This policy proposal will build national ownership over wellbeing indicators and ensure the creation of “fit-for-purpose” measures that reflect diverse contexts.
