27 February, 2020
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia was pleased to partner with the Centre for Social Impact and the Parliamentary Friends of the Social Sciences to launch the first Australian Social Progress Index (SPI) on Wednesday 26 February 2020 at Parliament House.
The SPI is an online resource which tracks Australia’s progress toward meeting human needs and foundations for wellbeing. The index compares the performance of Australian states and territories on social and environmental outcomes over time.
Professor Kristy Muir and Dr Megan Weier from the Centre for Social Impact gave an advanced briefing on the SPI and its relevance for social science research and policy development. They were joined by Academy CEO Dr Chris Hatherly and Parliamentary Friends of the Social Sciences co-convenors, the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP FASSA, Mr Adam Bandt MP and Mr Dave Sharma MP, who each spoke on the launch of the index.
The event was well attended by Academy Fellows, Members of Parliament and key sector representatives.
