There is more to life than economic data
Beyond GDP
GDP is a well-established and widespread tool for measuring economic output. Yet it does not tell us whether life as a whole is getting better, and for whom. Robert Kennedy remarked already in 1968: Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.
The OECD and the essential dimensions of wellbeing
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) has long been suggesting to its member countries to look beyond GDP. To this end, it has established the OECD Wellbeing Framework. It helps to monitor societal progress beyond GDP and inform people-centric and integrated policy making across the many dimensions that matter for people, the planet and future generations. The framework provides a compass to understand how human wellbeing is evolving in the context of the ecological and digital transitions, and what key actions are needed to support it.
The framework is based on 11 topics or dimensions that the OECD has identified as essential in the areas of material living conditions and quality of life. Two thirds of OECD countries have adopted a wellbeing policy or a monitoring framework in recent years. And data is collected across many countries.
How’s life in your country or region?
The OECD Better Life Index allows to compare wellbeing across countries to show relative wellbeing strengths and weaknesses for the dimensions - themes like income, work and job quality, housing conditions, health, safety, social connectedness and civic engagement. There is also a tool that shows data for wellbeing in regions.
The QWB Lab Wellbeing Framework
At QWB Lab we took the wellbeing dimensions as inspiration for the QWB Lab Wellbeing Framework (including the 12thdimension of Cultural Engagement that New Zealand has added). We interpreted the themes specifically for the cultural sector and developed a set of indicators for each of the 12 dimensions. This allows us to measure and highlight how cultural organisations are contributing to society’s wellbeing and move beyond just visit numbers as the key measure of the success of a cultural organisation.
Please contact us to find out how this could work for your organisation.
There is more to life than economic data
Beyond GDP
GDP is a well-established and widespread tool for measuring economic output. Yet it does not tell us whether life as a whole is getting better, and for whom. Robert Kennedy remarked already in 1968: Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.
The OECD and the essential dimensions of wellbeing
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) has long been suggesting to its member countries to look beyond GDP. To this end, it has established the OECD Wellbeing Framework. It helps to monitor societal progress beyond GDP and inform people-centric and integrated policy making across the many dimensions that matter for people, the planet and future generations. The framework provides a compass to understand how human wellbeing is evolving in the context of the ecological and digital transitions, and what key actions are needed to support it.
The framework is based on 11 topics or dimensions that the OECD has identified as essential in the areas of material living conditions and quality of life. Two thirds of OECD countries have adopted a wellbeing policy or a monitoring framework in recent years. And data is collected across many countries.
How’s life in your country or region?
The OECD Better Life Index allows to compare wellbeing across countries to show relative wellbeing strengths and weaknesses for the dimensions - themes like income, work and job quality, housing conditions, health, safety, social connectedness and civic engagement. There is also a tool that shows data for wellbeing in regions.
The QWB Lab Wellbeing Framework
At QWB Lab we took the wellbeing dimensions as inspiration for the QWB Lab Wellbeing Framework (including the 12thdimension of Cultural Engagement that New Zealand has added). We interpreted the themes specifically for the cultural sector and developed a set of indicators for each of the 12 dimensions. This allows us to measure and highlight how cultural organisations are contributing to society’s wellbeing and move beyond just visit numbers as the key measure of the success of a cultural organisation.
Please contact us to find out how this could work for your organisation.
There is more to life than economic data
Beyond GDP
GDP is a well-established and widespread tool for measuring economic output. Yet it does not tell us whether life as a whole is getting better, and for whom. Robert Kennedy remarked already in 1968: Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.
The OECD and the essential dimensions of wellbeing
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) has long been suggesting to its member countries to look beyond GDP. To this end, it has established the OECD Wellbeing Framework. It helps to monitor societal progress beyond GDP and inform people-centric and integrated policy making across the many dimensions that matter for people, the planet and future generations. The framework provides a compass to understand how human wellbeing is evolving in the context of the ecological and digital transitions, and what key actions are needed to support it.
The framework is based on 11 topics or dimensions that the OECD has identified as essential in the areas of material living conditions and quality of life. Two thirds of OECD countries have adopted a wellbeing policy or a monitoring framework in recent years. And data is collected across many countries.
How’s life in your country or region?
The OECD Better Life Index allows to compare wellbeing across countries to show relative wellbeing strengths and weaknesses for the dimensions - themes like income, work and job quality, housing conditions, health, safety, social connectedness and civic engagement. There is also a tool that shows data for wellbeing in regions.
The QWB Lab Wellbeing Framework
At QWB Lab we took the wellbeing dimensions as inspiration for the QWB Lab Wellbeing Framework (including the 12thdimension of Cultural Engagement that New Zealand has added). We interpreted the themes specifically for the cultural sector and developed a set of indicators for each of the 12 dimensions. This allows us to measure and highlight how cultural organisations are contributing to society’s wellbeing and move beyond just visit numbers as the key measure of the success of a cultural organisation.
Please contact us to find out how this could work for your organisation.
