The launch strategy of the new Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) in Oxford University's Department of International Development where Paddy Coulter acts as communications consultant www.ophi.org.uk
One of OPHI's ambitions is to change the international data that are available to measure poverty, so that these include aspects of poverty that are important to poor people but currently 'invisible' (such as safety from violence and quality of work) because no data are available on them. Another ambition is to do a mathematical measure of 'multidimensional' poverty that looks at each person - their own deprivations - and builds a national measure starting with each person. The governments of Mexico, Chile, Bolivia and Bhutan and Bolivia, are very interested in this, among other developing countries.
The Oxford research group, led by Dr Sabina Alkire, is advised by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and Tony Atkinson and Sudhir Anand, both economists who have lead international work. The plan is to roll out the emerging insights of this research work beyond the academy to the development policy and practitioner communities and development media commentators worldwide.