About the Board
Objectives
The Board has two primary objectives. One is to determine whether the province is improving its competitive position. The Board achieves this objective by establishing an ongoing means to measure and benchmark the province's progress over time compared to other jurisdictions. The other objective is to identify issues of importance to the future economic prosperity of BC, and advise the Premier on strategies, policies and actions to improve the province's economy and social wellbeing.
The Board has two mandates:
- Measure and benchmark BC's performance over time and relative to other jurisdictions, to determine if competitiveness and quality of life are improving;
- Advise the Premier on strategies, policies and actions that could enhance BC's economic and social well-being regardless of whether government, business or individual actions are required.
Reports
The BC Progress Board produces benchmark reports that describe the state of the province's economy, innovativeness, education, environment, health and societal performance. The Board's benchmarking work has two objectives:
- Help make BC a leader in the economy, innovation and education;
- Help make BC a leader in the environment, health and society.
For each objective, the Board has three core targets and 13 performance indicators. Under the "Economy, Innovation, and Education" objective, the core targets are: economic growth, standard of living, and jobs. Under the "Environment, Health and Society" objective, the core targets are: environmental quality, health outcomes, and social condition.
The Board issues an annual report, and a mid-year interim report. Both are made public. Periodically, the Board makes other recommendations to the Premier and the government, which may also be made public. To benchmark the province's progress, the Board relies on cross-jurisdictional data that are timely and comparable. The data come from sources such as:
- Statistics Canada
- BC Stats
- US Census Bureau
- US Bureau of Economic Analysis
- Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development
The Board also uses data from other government agencies, particularly where data gaps have been identified. All data sources are identified and the data are included in tables at the back of the Board's reports. The Board also conducts an ongoing web-based consultation process to gain additional information for benchmarking purposes and in its effort to provide the government with advice on the province's performance.
Members
The Premier established the BC Progress Board in 2001. The Board is an independent panel of 18 senior business executives and academic leaders, selected for their proven ability to contribute expertise on the province's economic progress and environmental and social condition. Each year, the BC Progress Board has three or four regular meetings. The Board, from time to time, also breaks into focused, time-limited "working groups" which provide support to the advisory mandate of the Board.
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