future generations need to be looked after. Similarly, issues of human development in relation to shocks and vulnerabilities and the relationships among human development, human rights and human security will have to be revisited. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals require fresh assessment tools for monitoring progress—measuring environmental sustainability and integrating it with overall measures for human well-being are priorities. Three other challenges stand out. First, measures and indicators have to be identified that allow policy impacts to be more quickly captured. Second, measures are often inadequate for assessing human well-being at times of shocks and crises and should thus be revamped to fill this need. Third, “quick guidance” policy measures should be explored. All these efforts require robust, consistent and credible data. Taking that into account and also considering a much more ambitious international agenda, the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Agenda convened by the UN Secretary-General in 2014 called for a data revolution. It emphasized the need to monitor progress. Three issues need highlighting: • First, huge amounts of real-time data can provide better information on, say, the attendance of students at school. Sensors,
satellites and other tools produce real-time data on people’s activities. These can be harnessed to inform policymaking. • Second, big data holds the promise of producing statistics almost instantaneously and allowing disaggregation to levels of detail hitherto undreamt of outside population censuses. Such data are expanding the understanding of causation in an increasingly complex world and enabling rapid responses in some humanitarian situations. But the data have risks—they could do harm where privacy and anonymity are not respected. Still, many researchers are identifying how this large volume of information—generated both incidentally and deliberately as billions of people go about their daily lives—can support sustainability and provide usable insights for improving lives. • Third, it is possible to combine traditional and new methods of data collection for censuses, ranging from administrative registers to mobile devices, geospatial information systems and the Internet. Many countries have already done this. In this changed and changing world, with a new development agenda and new development goals, the need for revisiting the notion and measures of human development is vital. Next year’s Human Development Report, the 25th in the series, will be devoted to it.
In this changed and changing world the need for revising the notion and measures of human development is vital
Overview | 25