Inner Development Goals

The Inner Development Goals (IDG) is a non-profit, open-source initiative committed to fostering inner development towards more sustainable futures. The organization developed the Inner Development Goals framework with the intent to simplify a complex field of human development to help people better identify, understand, communicate, develop, and integrate the inner skills needed for sustainable development.

Rooted in interdisciplinary research, the IDG Framework consists of 5 dimensions with 23 skills of human inner growth and development.

Origins

Data released in the 2023 Sustainability Development Report shows that based on the current pace of progress, less than 20% of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets are on track to be achieved. The IDG initiative was created to address the slow progress of the SDG, recognizing that inner development is key to achieving sustainable change.

IDGs draw inspiration from Nordic societal models that prioritize personal development for societal transformation.

Organization

in November 2023, the IDG Foundation was initiated by several groups including the 29k Foundation, the Ekskaret Foundation, IMD International Institute for Management Development, LUCSUS Center for Sustainability Studies , Lund University, the Stockholm Resilience Center, The New Division, Flourishing Network at Harvard University, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

The Inner Development Goals is a not-for-profit and open-source initiative. The initiative's Intellectual Property and operation is ultimately under the control of the non-profit organization Inner Development Goals Foundation established in Stockholm, Sweden.

Impact

Various organizations have adapted the IDG to address specific problems and make progress toward specific goals. For example, Plymouth University Researchers adapted the IDG framework into a measurable tool called IDG-A, designed to assess personal skills and qualities relevant to climate action.

The study introduced the Meaning, Awareness, Purpose coaching model which emphasizes intrinsic motivation, imagery training, and connecting personal values to climate action. This MAP model showed promising results in increasing IDG-A scores and promoting pro-environmental behaviors compared to traditional Carbon Literacy Training.

Findings highlight the importance of self-understanding, emotional connection, and nature connection for driving sustainable behavior change and improving well-being.

In another study, researchers at Osnabrück University developed, implemented, and evaluated an innovative experiential seminar for university students, which systematically covered all five IDG dimensions and touched on all 23 elements.The Inner Development Goals as an Innovative Approach to Sustainable Development: Conceptualization, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Experiential University Seminar for Holistic Sustainability Education, by Stefanie Engel and Carolin Janssen. Submitted: 17 June 2024 Reviewed: 27 June 2024 Published: 04 September 2024 https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/1193423 Among the key take-home messages that students indicated they would like to preserve, the most prominent ones are related to self-awareness and inner compass, followed by complexity awareness, perspective taking, appreciation, and optimism.

References

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International sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainability