The phrase "in the direction of progress" is a perfectly correct and usable phrase in written English.
You could use it to describe an action that is going to move something (e.g. a business, relationship, etc.) towards improvement or a better future. For example; "The company decided to focus on the customer experience, in the direction of progress".
So, I think they they went as far as they could in the direction of progress, given a lot of institutional constraints.
"I don't wear rose-colored glasses," he said, "but I think that it's important to take stock of the fact that we have made success in the direction of progress".
Just as the US supreme court did earlier this year when it ruled gay marriage to be constitutional, the European court of justice has not just walked but run in the direction of progress.
Because natural selection can produce amazing adaptations, it's tempting to think of it as an all-powerful force, urging organisms on, constantly pushing them in the direction of progress but this is not what natural selection is like at all.
He believed in the duty of a benevolent upper class to lead the nation in the direction of progress, and it was only when his faith in that concept wavered, in the 1930s, that he threw his lot in with the Tory avatars.
To the question "why must we choose to view human history as if it were moving in the direction of progress?" Kant responds, in Perpetual Peace and Other Essays (PPOE), that otherwise the sight of human history would become unbearable.
But there is likely to be broad agreement, at least retrospectively, about the direction of progress implied in the indicators as a set.
We also assume that only two relay nodes in the directions of progress can receive informations.
I would shift things much more in the direction of measurable progress on the ground.
That strength will ensure that Poland emerges from the depths of this unthinkable tragedy, and that the legacy of the leaders who died today will be a light that continues to guide Poland - and the world - in the direction of human progress.
It is also really important to clarify that in this 'bidirectional' motion, the direction of net progress along the MT axis is not changing: both left handed and right handed helical paths have the motor heading in the same direction along the MT axis.
