Helsinki, Finland – September 10th 2026 – The MERGE project has submitted a contribution to the United Nations’ call for input on an Elements Paper for the intergovernmental process on Beyond GDP, the working document that will guide upcoming negotiations among Member States on how to measure progress beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The call follows the May 2026 publication of the report by the UN High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Beyond GDP, which synthesised decades of research into a single framework for measuring progress. Spain, acting as co-facilitator of the intergovernmental process, launched the call for contributions to build on that report, inviting governments, civil society, research institutions and international bodies to submit input by 26 August 2026. MERGE’s submission draws on research and stakeholder engagement conducted across the consortium’s work on sustainable and inclusive wellbeing.
The submission sets out three main contributions:
- Building on existing convergence. Major Beyond GDP alternatives, from the OECD and UN system to the Joint Research Centre’s Sustainable and Inclusive Wellbeing dashboard, already share a common thematic base of sustainability, inclusivity and wellbeing. The HLEG framework reflects this same convergence, and MERGE’s own cluster analysis of more than 200 Beyond GDP indicators found they group into 19 recurring domains, closely mirrored in the HLEG’s own 22 domains. The submission argues this alignment should be built on, rather than diluted by further competing frameworks.
- Making the framework usable. The submission identifies two priorities for adoption, among others: developing headline indicators that policymakers can track, and linking the framework to existing accounting systems such as the System of National Accounts and the System of Environmental and Economic Accounts.
- Embedding wellbeing into governance. Drawing on MERGE’s policy labs and workshops with EU policymakers, the submission sets out five levers for embedding sustainable, inclusive, and wellbeing frameworks in national implementation: reporting and monitoring, setting political targets, enforcement mechanisms, policy evaluation, and budgetary allocation rules.
The submission argues that progress on this agenda does not depend on any single actor moving first. The UN can provide a shared statistical blueprint, Eurostat and the European Statistical System can mandate and fund the data collection needed to make it usable across EU Member States, Member States can embed indicators into national policy and budgeting, and national statistical institutes can lead on operationalising the measures. MERGE argues that this work can begin now, ahead of the framework’s finalisation.
As the outcome of this consultation, the Elements Paper is expected to consolidate submissions from stakeholders across the agenda, informing the negotiation rounds that follow among Member States and regions. MERGE will continue to engage with policymakers, statisticians and civil society as the intergovernmental process moves forward.
The full submission is available here.
About the MERGE project
MERGE is a Horizon Europe-funded Coordination and Support Action (CSA) project that aims to integrate wellbeing, inclusion, and sustainability indicators into multilevel governance policy. MERGE consists of 16 partners, encompassing research, technical, policy, and civil society organisations.
Media contact
Ly Le
Communications Expert
Demos Helsinki | MERGE
ly.le@demoshelsinki.fi | +358449784988
