Unlocking composite indicators, our Knowledge Apéro in Brussels
On Tuesday 13 October 2026, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini will host the Knowledge Apéro One number, many stories: What do composite indicators reveal and conceal?, an informal networking event focusing on how composite indicators are built, interpreted and used in policymaking. The event will take place at FGB's Brussels premises (19A Avenue Marnix Building A, 3rd floor) from 18.00 to 20.00 CET.
Now in its 20th edition, FGB's Knowledge Apéro series consists of informal after-work gatherings where invited speakers and participants exchange ideas over a glass of wine, fostering connections and amplifying the value generated by individuals, institutions and companies.
The event will feature a discussion on composite indicators and what they reveal and conceal, aimed at anyone interested in skills, evidence-based policymaking and the challenges of turning complex information into meaningful measures.
By bringing different dimensions together into a single score or ranking, composite indicators can help make complex issues easier to understand. In doing so, however, they can also obscure important differences, assumptions and uncertainties.
The discussion will bring together three perspectives: The European Skills Deficiencies Index (ESDI), developed within the SkillsPULSE project, coordinated by FGB; the methodological expertise of the JRC Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards; and the policy perspective of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.
Key discussion points will include what we gain from summarising complex information in a single number, what we might lose, and how we can ensure that indicators remain useful without oversimplifying the reality behind them.
Liga Baltina, Head of FGB's Labour Market and Skills Research Unit, will moderate the session, which will feature contributions from Marina Ferent-Pipas, Researcher in the same FGB Unit; Panagiotis Ravanos, Quantitative Policy Analyst at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission; and Athina Karvounaraki, Senior Expert – Statistics and Indicators and Team Leader at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD).
The event is open to both invited and external guests, upon previous online registration via Eventbrite. Please note that FGB's Brussels office is located in a historic building which regrettably has some architectural barriers – namely steps at the entrance and very small lifts – and is not fully accessible to persons with reduced mobility
