ZOE Institute for Future-fit Economies

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐀 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 [𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏 𝐨𝐟 𝟒] Starting today, we’re diving into the WISE Global Report—a fresh look at the history of sustainable and inclusive #Wellbeing across the world, with deep dives into #Africa, #China, the #EU, and the #US. Imagine you could be born in any era—which would you choose? Let’s put our wellbeing lens on and take a step back: ⏳ Is today really the best time to be alive? 🔎 Are we truly on a path of progress? 🗯️ Have we approached the end of an era? To unpack these questions, our consortium of new economy researchers mapped the evolution of #Demography, #Technology, #Economy, #Globalisation, #Nature, and #Institutions. They examined their impacts on wellbeing, inclusion, and sustainability, providing comprehensive insights into how society has developed throughout history. Annegeke Jansen Rutger Hoekstra Jaap Arntzen Junming Zhu Philipp Bothe Lin Cui Kedi Liu Irlan Rum #WellbeingEconomy #Sustainability #Inclusion #GlobalDevelopment #WISEHorizons -------------------- Week by week 📅, we share key insights from the deep dives in the WISE Global Report. Follow us for a journey through the report's key points and findings: https://lnkd.in/d5BwCQqN

We’re getting ready for next week’s POLITICO Sustainable Future Week #POLITICOSustainableWeek Jakob Hafele will be putting forward ZOE’s perspective on, Competitive and green: can Europe have it all? 🌍 on the panel this time next week. Come along or tune in for the discussion on… How can the Clean Industrial Deal prevent Europe's industry from going abroad? What financial incentives can the Clean Industrial Deal reasonably include? How can the EU incentivise private investment? 📆 December 3-5 🔗 Agri & Food Stream | Day 1 | Dec 3 (afternoon): https://lnkd.in/eujynRTz 🔗 Mobility Stream | Day 2 | Dec 4 (morning): https://lnkd.in/e6CgCFhQ 🔗 Industrial Policy Stream | Day 3 | Dec 5 (morning): https://lnkd.in/eCgQbanD 🔗 Sustainability Stream | Day 3 | Dec 5 (afternoon): https://lnkd.in/eVZRbQvc #Competitiveness #IndustrialPolicy #GreenDeal #FutureFit

📢 Calling Brussels future-thinkers   Sophie Howe, the ‘World’s first minister for future generations’ will be at Full Circle next week making the case for embedding future thinking in institutions.   She'll be reflecting on recent milestones in future thinking globally and the outlook for the movement to protect #FutureGenerations. This is the opening session of the #IdeasFestival2024 - 3 days of #Futures-themed talks, debates, film, art, music and community-building   Sophie Howe was the first Future Generations Commissioner for Wales from 2016 to 2023. In this role she held government to account on how decisions affect future generations. She is now a global ambassador and advocate for long-term thinking in government and is helping more countries follow Wales’ lead.   #IntergenerationalFairness #IfNotNowThenWhen #TheFutureIsNow #Brussels

🗓 Today we mark #IntergenerationalFairnessDay!    2024 has been a milestone year for intergenerational fairness. The United Nations Summit of the Future saw the adoption of the Pact for the Future and the Declaration on #FutureGenerations. In Europe, the #EU announced the first-ever EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, "to make sure that decisions taken today do not harm future generations".    These developments are positive steps towards more long-view decision-making. It's important to keep up momentum to embed future-thinking in institutions and policymaking.    Here we've gathered some of our most relevant resources on #governance for future generations from 2024:   📜 Our timeline plots the history of the movement to care for future generations from ancient times to the present day https://lnkd.in/dCPb5KbM   🗞️ This recent opinion article describes the potential of a new EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness to benefit present and future generations https://lnkd.in/d4GTpZ4t   📢 Our proposal for an EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness sets out how this role can work with others to strengthen long-term thinking, and provides inspiration for their first 100 days in office https://lnkd.in/echbtN-j   📰 This blog reflects on the outcomes of the #UN Summit of the Future https://lnkd.in/exESQTn6   Feel free to share more #IntergenerationalFairness resources in the comments 👇

Last Wednesday, my ZOE Institute for Future-fit Economies colleague Raphael Kaufmann and I had opportunity to present some key insights from the WISE Horizons project at the "Development Beyond Growth – Global and Local Perspectives on Just Transitions" conference, co-organised by NELA. Next Economy Lab and German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).   In our presentation, I highlighted how WISE Horizons aims to synthesise existing post-growth policies, models, and metrics to create a cohesive, state-of-the-art theoretical and accounting framework. By collaborating with diverse stakeholders, we ensure that our technical work is rooted in real-world experiences, making our outputs relevant and impactful. Through our three co-creative labs—the Future Lab, the Just Transition Lab, and the Global South Insights Lab—we’ve received invaluable inputs and feedback, refining both our empirical and theoretical work.   Raphael focused on institutional change theory, elaborating on the role of #narratives in shaping public policy outcomes. As we move away from growth-centred narratives towards the institutionalisation of #sustainable and #inclusive #wellbeing, we can learn from the institutionalisation of economic growth as well as cases such as climate change. In both cases, a common language and the development of a robust technical infrastructure —that is, metrics, accounting systems, and models— facilitated the mainstreaming of these policy areas in public policy. Strengthening the technical infrastructure is thus essential to kickstarting an institutional shift beyond growth.   We were fortunate to share the panel with other inspiring speakers. Tejendra P. Gautam presented his research on a counter-narrative of growth hegemony in Gadchiroli, India, and Matthias Kranke explored perceptions of post-growth solutions among officers in intergovernmental organisations. The chance to engage with these experts and discuss global-local connections was deeply inspiring and provided valuable insights that will likely influence the next stages of our project.

Our colleague Dr. Christoph Gran shares key insights from the OECD - OCDE Forum on #Wellbeing in Rome, where he and the MERGE project co-organised the session '#BeyondGDP to Sustainable and Inclusive Wellbeing.'   💡 Check out his post to learn more about the forum and the discussions on advancing wellbeing beyond traditional economic metrics 👇  

I was still processing when the taz called me for this interview last week on the implications for Europe of 4 more years of Trump in the White House. Its a horrible situation, which will cause a lot of suffering, but hopefully its the wake-up call that Europe needs to act in unity to utilise its full economic potential, especially the potential of its left-behind regions. Read the full interview here (in german): https://lnkd.in/eUVUs4Ua

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭 🌍 𝐴 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛-𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔. This week our colleague Lydia Korinek shared insights in this regard at an event ‘Empowering Europe’s #GreenDeal hosted by TETTRIs, Skills4EOSC, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien and CETAF - Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities. As we face complex and uncertain times, Europe needs a new compass—one that aligns economic activities with ecological systems and wellbeing, respecting Earth’s #PlanetaryBoundaries. Countries such as New Zealand, Finland, Wales, Iceland, and Scotland have a partnership to support one another to build economies that put the wellbeing of their people and planet first. To follow suit, Europe must embrace a broader set of indicators that capture our progress in protecting the environment, supporting economic resilience, and promoting social #wellbeing. By shifting our focus to a holistic understanding of the progress of our system, we can guide policies toward a #Europe where people and planet are equally valued, ensuring prosperity and resilience for generations to come 🌱 #WellbeingEconomy

🌍💡 Together For a Future-fit Economic Policy! [German below] Recently, we at  ZOE Institute for Future-Fit Economies, in collaboration with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, organised a workshop with participants from the German foundation sector. Our shared goal: to develop economic policy that places greater focus on social and ecological objectives and strengthens the ecosystem for #New Economic Thinking. At the heart of the workshop was the question: How can economic relationships be meaningfully linked with societal challenges? And how can we find a common language for these topics? 💬 A fascinating example: The Inflation Reduction Act #IRA in the USA was made possible through strategic collaboration among various stakeholders—a model from which we can learn. Many thanks to everyone who took part – we learned a lot and felt the desire for more strategic exchange and collaboration. We look forward to continuing our work for socio-ecological renewal of the economy together!  #FutureFitEconomies #EconomicPolicy  #Sustainability   🌍💡 Gemeinsam gestalten: Für eine zukunftsfähige Wirtschaftspolitik! Vor kurzem haben wir vom ZOE Institut für zukunftsfähige Ökonomien in Zusammenarbeit mit der Bertelsmann Stiftung einen Workshop mit engagierten Teilnehmenden aus dem deutschen Stiftungsumfeld organisiert. Unser gemeinsames Ziel: eine Wirtschaftspolitik zu entwickeln, die soziale und ökologische Ziele stärker in den Mittelpunkt rückt und das Ökosystem für Neues Ökonomisches Denken bis hinunter auf die betriebliche Ebene langfristig stärkt. Im Zentrum stand die Frage: Wie lassen sich wirtschaftliche Zusammenhänge verständlich mit gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen verknüpfen? Und wie finden wir eine gemeinsame Sprache für diese Themen? 💬 Ein spannendes Beispiel: Der Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in den USA wurde durch eine strategische Zusammenarbeit verschiedener Akteure und Stiftungen ermöglicht – ein Vorgehen, von dem wir lernen können.  Vielen Dank an alle die dabei waren – wir haben viel dazu gelernt und gesehen wie groß die Nachfrage nach mehr strategischem Austausch und Zusammenarbeit in diesem Bereich ist. Wir freuen uns darauf, weiterhin gemeinsam an einer sozio-ökologischen Erneuerung unserer Wirtschaft zu arbeiten! #zukunftsfähigeÖkonomien #Wirtschaftspolitik #ZukunftGestalten Jakob Hafele  Dr. Ole Wintermann  Dr. Alexandra Schmied  Claudia Neubauer  Katrin Elsemann  Renée Paula Horster  Dr. Johannes Lundershausen  Daniel Vockins  Dr. Ellen Ehmke  Karenina Schröder  Anja Koenig  Daniel Valenzuela

We’re just back from our Team Days… We talked Strategy, a lot. In these times of extreme uncertainty and turbulence its crucial to keep reviewing the windows of opportunity to push for more future-fit economies.  As an organisation that supports others to do long-term thinking we’re trying to practice that ourselves and to keep our eyes on our vision and goals whilst constantly adapting. Bringing the whole team together really helps to do this. We also laughed, a lot. This helps too. Huge thanks to the whole ZOE Institute for Future-fit Economies team for their commitment, energy, input, sense of humour, critical minds… Special thanks to Anja Boenke for making sure everything went so smoothly. And to Nora Lemmer for the lovely photos.