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Orbis, operating in Curitiba since 2004, was born from the first edition of ICONS, held in 2003, in Curitiba. The role of the Observatory is to contribute to sustainable development by analyzing and monitoring prosperity and quality of life. Inspired on UN’s Global Urban Observatory (GUO), Orbis is an initiative of the Federation of Industries of Paraná  (Fiep), the Social Service of the Industry (Sesi-Pr), and of the Development Promotion Institute (IPD).

Besides organizing and monitoring sustainability indicators, the observatory also produces research methodologies; studies, analyses and updates information and methodologies systems. The information generated provides subsidy for decision making and management of development projects. With the support of national and international partners like the United Nations development Program (UNDP), the UN Child Fund (UNICEF), the Ministry of Planning, Budget, and Administration of Brazil, Orbis has also developed and operates the ODM Portal (www.portalodm.com.br) .

The Sustainability Indicators Observatory (Orbis) has been conducting group work with 30 Brazilian experts specializing in local development indicators since the beginning of October in preparation for the second edition of the International Conference on Sustainable Development and Quality of Life Indicators (ICONS) to be held in Curitiba at the end of the second semester of 2010. Conceived during a meeting promoted by Orbis at Cietep in Curitiba, the group intends to develop a single set of indicators in order to evaluate local development in Brazil, and to turn ICONS into a biennial meeting. 

“Our intention is to create a permanent network for disseminating specialized information in local sustainable development and quality of life,” said the president of the Federation of Industries of Paraná System (Fiep), Rodrigo da Rocha Loures, in the meeting’s opening session.  

The group is formed by the National Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE), Sebrae Nacional, Dieese, the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro, The Nossa São Paulo Movement, Senac-SP, Ippuc, Ipardes, PUC-SP, the Brazilian Association for Leadership Development (ABDL), the Brazilian Quality and Productivity Institute (IBQP), and the Federal University of Pernambuco.

 Information – ICONS 2010 ‘s central theme will be “Information for Citizenship: Management and Synergy”. Aiming at making indicators and analyses user friendly for the population in general, the group intends to create a single set of indicators to be used in the evaluation of local development in Brazil. The data will be incorporated in initiatives already in place in Brazil through a portal dedicated to indicators. The group’s next meeting is scheduled to take place during an event called ExpoBrasil = Local Development, from November 25-27, in São Paulo. The group also intents to split into two committees – one  to organize the event and the other to mobilize people and outline the program.  

Cooperation – According to consultant Luiz Bouabci, who mediated the group’s work based on the Bellagio Principles (devised to evaluate sustainable development in local communities, businesses, and even international agencies), the development of tools to achieve cooperation is critical. “In international experiences, what works is people’s organization around their interests. With very little, some organizations come to this realization and are able to accomplish a great deal. In order to have them participate, however, it is necessary to provide them with information.” The group identified the need for studies on new indicators, such as social capital (the implicit value of internal and external connections of a social network and the social interaction among individuals) and the efficient use of time.

Programs Ensure Greater Visibility

Orbis’s Coordinator, Luciana Brenner, states that the group wants to shed light on social problems and to ensure that more attention will be paid by society and government. “At present, all organizations that are part of the group are developing efficient work, but they lack nationwide outreach,” she points out.

For the coordinator of the Human Development Network (REDEH), Thaís Corral, since the first ICONS edition much has been done in terms of implementing experiences, even if in a unsystematic way. “It is necessary to come up with a way of organizing the existing knowledge,” she said.

The Nossa São Paulo Institute, for example, has developed IBEM, a study aimed at measuring the well being of the residents of São Paulo. DIEESE has organized the Labor Observatory of Rio Grande do Sul. Firjan has created a set of indicators for the state of Rio de Janeiro. IBGE is consistently producing indicators based on census-derived information and, more recently, sustainability indicators.