At the outset, such things even promote progress (4)
I believe the answer is:
step
'progress' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'at the outset such things even promote' is the wordplay.
'at the outset' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'such things even promote' is 'STEP'.
(Other definitions for step that I've seen before include "Foot movement" , "Put foot on a pest" , "'Stage, rung (4)'" , "Stage - pace" , "Footfall" .)