A coalition of countries and partners working to embed multidimensional development metrics into international cooperation has kicked off its 2026-2027 operational phase. The first plenary meeting of the Beyond GDP Global Alliance brought together members as well as interested countries and stakeholders to discuss the Alliance’s objectives, outline its proposed governance approach and intended areas of work during its first year, and explore how the Alliance can contribute to advancing recommendations the UN High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP (HLEG) is expected to deliver in May.

Formally launched at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) as an initiative under the Sevilla Platform for Action, the Beyond GDP Global Alliance will connect to the HLEG’s efforts to foster convergence, facilitate learning, and create pathways for countries and institutions to promote the uptake of more comprehensive metrics of sustainable development into policy and financing strategies.

Co‑led by Spain, Uruguay, and Senegal, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the initiative brings together over 30 countries and international partners to integrate multidimensional measures of progress into development finance and public policymaking.

Endorsing the Alliance are Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Cabo Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, and Timor-Leste.

The Beyond GDP Global Alliance focuses on embedding beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) approaches in planning, budgeting, resource allocation, and monitoring, while improving coherence across existing indicator frameworks. Its objectives include promoting the use of beyond GDP metrics in development finance, international cooperation, and national policymaking, and fostering a shared understanding of how these measures can complement traditional economic indicators. The Alliance emphasizes country‑led implementation with a focus on the Global South.

A recent SDG Knowledge Hub policy brief notes that initiatives such as the Beyond GDP Global Alliance “can assist with strengthening national capacities and support coordination efforts across countries and agencies to produce, analyze, and use [beyond GDP] indicators alongside peer‑to‑peer learning and regional exchanges.”

The first plenary meeting of the Beyond GDP Global Alliance convened in the margins of the 2026 session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up (FfD Forum) in New York, US, on 21 April. [Beyond GDP Global Alliance First Plenary Meeting]

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This story aims to inform and support sustainable development decision makers in their efforts to go beyond GDP. It is part of a project made possible through financial support provided by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).