The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Rethinking Economics International, UN Geneva, and the Beyond Lab, launched an e-course to support inclusive and sustainable economies for people and the planet. The Beyond GDP Learning Tool offers practical guidance on using non-GDP indicators to gauge progress.

In her opening remarks, Livia Bizikova, IISD, outlined ongoing efforts to develop measures that are complementary to gross domestic product (GDP), including the UN Secretary-General’s the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP, established under the Pact for the Future in May 2025, tasked with developing a limited set of indicators to complement GDP. She said the Expert Group’s findings, due in early 2026, will be integrated in the e-course.

Introducing the learning tool, Bizikova said it aims to:

  • critically analyze gross domestic product (GDP) in terms of how it is calculated, its historical significance, and its key limitations; and
  • describe alternative approaches to measuring progress that go “beyond GDP,” such as gross national happiness index (GHI), genuine progress indicator (GPI), and human development index (HDI), among others, with a deep dive into comprehensive wealth (CW) measuring five types of capital – produced, natural, human, financial, and social.

She hoped by providing details on alternative approaches to measuring well-being, the e-course would help improve policymaking and education, and underscored many countries already have enough data to start monitoring beyond GDP metrics. Outlining IISD’s pilot studies on comprehensive wealth in Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Trinidad and Tobago, Bizikova emphasized the importance of national context.

Available free of charge in English, French, and Spanish, the self-paced e-course requires around four hours to complete and is designed for university students – and anyone else interested in the topic, Bizikova explained. Engaging and immersive, the learning tool features quick quizzes, knowledge checks, and questions for reflection, offering opportunities to teach and engage on how the global community can move beyond GDP.

Kali Taylor, Managing Director, Sustainable Finance Geneva, moderated the panel discussion.

Alin Halimatussadiah, Head of Green Economy and Climate Research Group, Institute for Economic and Social Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia, who led IISD’s study in Indonesia, reflected on developing metrics that complement GDP in her country. She said the project team calculated each of the five capitals sequentially, highlighting the importance of interpreting results and creating a narrative to guide policymakers. Halimatussadiah called for a roadmap and a narrative to gain the interests of policymakers to integrate beyond GDP in development planning and policymaking through research and advocacy as well as teaching.

Felix Vincent, Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina), winner of Beyond GDP essay competition, and representative of the Youth Network on Beyond GDP, emphasized the need to “go back to the basics,” rethink conceptual foundations shaping how we see the economy, and change the system of national accounts.

Annegeke Jansen, PhD candidate, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University and a research associate at the Wellbeing Research Centre, Oxford University, emphasized the importance of extending the debate beyond the academic domain to involve youth and others in efforts to improve well-being, saying “it is about organizing societies.”

Sonal Raghuvanshi, Senior Economist, Rethinking Economics International, described her organization as a student-led movement advocating for curriculum reform and underscored that beyond GDP approaches must be prioritized and well embedded in economics education.

Responding to questions from the audience, panelists highlighted, inter alia:

  • reprioritization in university curricula to integrate approaches on moving beyond GDP;
  • technical issues with data collection, processing, and analysis;
  • the importance of considering trade-offs when looking at different investments to improve well-being and nature;
  • using existing measures to complement GDP, such as indicators related to labor market, nutrition and per capita food consumption, and time use; and
  • the need for a complementary indicator to measure unpaid care work.

IISD and partners launched the learning tool following a webinar on 14 October 2025. [Learning Beyond GDP] [Beyond GDP: A Learning Tool for Inclusive and Sustainable Economies for People and Planet] [Launch Event Recording] [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources]