MERGE
MERGE establishes a science-policy interface for dialogue, co-creation and knowledge exchange to improve and promote indicators and models on sustainable and inclusive wellbeing.
The quest to incorporate inclusion, sustainability, and wellbeing measures into global accounting frameworks has gained traction – both at international and national levels. However, evidence remains fragmented and disagreement persists on what indicators and data to use.
MERGE aims to overcome these obstacles. The project will improve the usability and accessibility of policy frameworks and indicators for inclusive and sustainable wellbeing through collaboration. Led by Tampere University in collaboration with the ZOE Institute, the consortium includes prominent institutions that have helped to advance the agenda of multi-dimensional indicators: the European Policy Centre, Demos Research Institute, Universitei Leiden, PIN (Servizi didattici e scientifici per l’Università di Firenze), Universitat de Barcelona, Universiteit Gent, University College London, Università degli Study di Ferrara, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, Research and Degrowth International, the UK Office for National Statistics, Insitut d’Estadistica de Catalunya, Social Platform, and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
This EU-funded project starts in January 2024 with a budget over 3.6 million euros. At the core of MERGE sits the establishment of a science-policy interface for dialogue, co-creation and knowledge exchange on how to improve and promote indicators and data on inclusive and sustainable wellbeing. With this ambition, MERGE facilitates cooperation and exchange among European Commission-funded leading research projects, including:
- SPES (Sustainability Performances, Evidence and Scenarios; coordinated by Università degli Study di Firenze)
- ToBe (Towards a sustainable wellbeing economy: integrated policies and transformative indicators; Coordinated by Tampereen Korkeakoulusaatio)
- WISE Horizons (Wellbeing, inclusion, sustainability and the economy; coordinated by Universiteit Leiden)
- REAL (A Post Growth Deal; coordinated by Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona)
Together, these projects represent more than 17 million euros in EU contributions, and bring together leading scholars in the field, including Thomas Piketty, Tim Jackson, Rutger Hoekstra, Julia Steinberger, Giorgos Kallis, Jason Hickel, Robert Constanza, Daniel O’Neill, and Milena Buchs.
To scale up results, MERGE will work closely with and strengthen the multidisciplinary community of researchers, statisticians, policymakers, think tanks and civil society partners. Through these networks, MERGE aims to
- Build a broad consensus on easy-to-use and acceptable indicators and frameworks for measuring inclusive and sustainable wellbeing
- Align with international organisations like the UN, the OECD as well as European, national and regional policy.
- Offer collaborative and training events, analyses, indicators, datasets and policy briefings.
- Support stakeholders and researchers in developing and applying a systematic and coherent understanding of an economic paradigm grounded in inclusive and sustainable wellbeing in their own work.
