Bertelsmann Reform Index (BRI)

With the Bertelsmann Reform Index (BRI), the Bertelsmann Stiftung is analyzing and comparing the need for reform in OECD member countries, as well as their ability to respond to current social and political challenges. The project is designed to create a comprehensive data pool on government-related activities in the world's developed, free-market democracies. In addition, it uses international comparisons to provide evidence-based input for reform-related public discourse taking place in these countries.

Using qualitative and quantitative data, the BRI measures the current need for political, economic and social reform in all 30 OECD member states. At the same time, it examines to what extent the countries' governments are able to tackle pressing problems and implement effective solutions. The BRI thus makes use of a multi-dimensional approach that goes beyond the informational impact supplied by current rankings and indexes.    

The Democracy Ranking's initial release is scheduled for 2008, and it will then appear at two-year intervals. The ranking supplements the Bertelsmann Stiftung's current portfolio of comparative analytical tools. Since 2002, for example, its Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) has been documenting the progress 124 transformation countries have been making toward democracy and a market economy. A similar tool for comparing industrialized nations has been lacking up until now.

The Bertelsmann Reform Index (BRI) thus reflects the methodologies and project goals already in place at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. It evaluates the extent to which OECD member states are in a position, given changing domestic and international conditions, to implement the reforms necessary for ensuring their future viability. By measuring the need for reform along with the effectiveness of initiatives that have already been implemented, the BRI wants to help benchmark the best policy solutions for promoting democracy and a market economy.