The project aims to develop and advance a set of metrics that complement and go beyond GDP and to strengthen national capacities to design, implement, and integrate beyond-GDP metrics into evidence-based decision-making processes to foster inclusive and sustainable development.The project will be implemented in two sequential and complementary phases: Phase1: Convening of a High-Level Expert Group (HLEG), as requested in the Pact for the Future, and support to its work. Specifically, Phase1 will provide substantive and analytical support to the High-Level Expert Group and its operational functioning. It will help collate available data sources and needs for new measures, as a basis for identifying a limited number of country-owned and universally applicable indicators of sustainable development that complement and go beyond GDP. Phase2: will follow phase1 and build on its outcomes by supporting pilot testing at country level of recommended beyond-GDP metrics. By leveraging innovative methods, AI, and non-traditional data sources, the project will also test their use at the country level. Phase2 will equip governments with tools and guidance to address key gaps in measuring progress. Stakeholder engagement, case studies, and global dissemination of results will further ensure the scalability and sustainability of these new approaches, as well as alignment with the 2030 Agenda.

Considering the escalating climate change challenges in the Caribbean region, marked by an urgent need for robust data-driven climate policies, the project is designed to enhance capacities in SIDS by delivering training in fundamental data science skills, along with providing technical assistance in making effective use of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data (for tracking vessels) and related national data (in two beneficiary countries, namely Barbados and Belize) as well as the application of Artificial Intelligence for Environment & Sustainability (ARIES), which can be used for the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) (in two countries, namely Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago). Through integration of geospatial information and new data sources, this initiative seeks to empower four SIDS in the Caribbean with the necessary capabilities to accurately monitor maritime transport and trade, fisheries and ecosystem services (including tourism), analyze related CO2 emissions and foster the development of SEEA accounts. The project will also provide analytical diagnostic studies on sources and levels of CO2 and other GHG emissions, and feed the main findings into a cross-country roadmap listing most relevant policy options and recommendations for the decarbonisation of the maritime transport sector and fisheries value chains, and for the conservation, management, and restoring of the marine ecosystems (with support from UNEP). Throughout the project CARICOM and ECLAC will provide regional coordination and guidance on policy implementation.