The Social Progress Index is a tool that helps measure how well Leeds is doing in terms of Inclusive Growth. It helps us understand what’s happening in different areas of the city (ward based) by looking at multiple parts and offering us a clear and unbiased measure of overall wellbeing in the city.

The Social Progress Index is made of three main parts: Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity. Each of these areas has four smaller parts that relate to specific questions the index aims to answer. The various indicators measure specific outcomes, with the scores of each area showing on a scale from 0-100. This makes it easier to understand how well the city is doing and where our strengths and weaknesses lie.
The Social Progress Index was created by an organisation called the Social Progress Imperative to measure the overall quality of life in different communities by looking at outcomes and peoples experiences.
Policymakers, businesses, organisations and citizens can use the Leeds index to compare different areas and see which areas are doing well and which areas are in need of more work.
Please refer to the Leeds SPI model 'User Guide' for instruction on its use.
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Further Information and Methodology
The Leeds Social Progress methodology report outlines how the Leeds SPI model was compiled, and includes sections on using the SPI framework, selection and calculation of the indicators, data weighting and indexing as well as the production of the Tableau visualisation.
If you have any further queries on the Leeds SPI model then please send your enquiry to Inclusive.Growth.Strategy@leeds.gov.uk and we will reply to you as soon as possible.