I wrote this article as an example of success use of the Social Progress Index in Latin America. The original version here: http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/an-index-for-action-2016-update-of-the-social-progress-index-for-the-cities-of-colombia/
The results of the 2016 update to the Social Progress Index for the Cities of Colombia have been released. The Index follows approximately the same methodology as the Global Index, but uses indicators chosen by local partner organizations to reflect local priorities and available data. In this update the Social Progress Index measured the cities of Manizales, Bucaramanga, Medellín, Bogotá, Pereira, Ibagué, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena and Cúcuta.cities-perform

This update found that in 2015, in general, social progress decreased for most Colombian cities, dropping from an average of 65.3 points on the Index in 2014, to 64.5 points in 2015.

Taking into account the three dimensions measured—Basic Human Needs (Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Water and Basic Sanitation, Shelter and Public Services, and Personal Safety), Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity (Personal Rights, Personal Freedom and Choice, Tolerance and Inclusion, and Access to Advanced Education)—Manizales took the top spot again, with a score of 75.1 out of 100, followed by Bucaramanga with 70.3, Medellín with 69.6, and Bogotá with 68.6.

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Cartagena, with an Index score of 50.7, is in the last position of the Index, followed by Cúcuta with 57.2. It is the first time that social progress was measured in this city. Valledupar was not included in the 2016 update.

The Index shows that the decrease in overall social progress is a result of worsening performance in the Foundations of Wellbeing dimension for most cities studied. The Foundations of Wellbeing dimension consists of the components Access to Basic Knowledge, Access to Information and Communications, Health and Wellness, and Environmental Quality.
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One of the advantages of this Index is that it has used historical information from the Red Colombiana de Ciudades Cómo Vamos, to allow understanding on trends in social progress for the country’s 10 most important cities (where 40% of the Colombian population lives).

This Index is helping to guide actors in different social sectors (government, civil society and the private sector) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals because it identifies priorities to make cities into more inclusive, safe, sustainable and resilient spaces; and it promotes high-impact social and environmental actions through open, collaborative and cross-sector processes.

opportunityTo learn more about this index visit the Fundación Corona  and  Red Colombiana de Ciudades Cómo Vamos. websites.

Download the 2016 Social Progress Index for the Cities of Colombia Executive Summary here. (Only available in Spanish)

You can read news (in Spanish) in the following links:

The Social Progress Index for the Cities of Colombia is a project led by the #RedProgresoSocialColombia of which Fundación Corona, Compartamos con Colombia, Deloitte, Fundación Avina, the Colombian Network of Cómo Vamos Cities and the Social Progress Imperative are all members.

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