For almost a decade, the What Works Centre for Wellbeing has built a reputation as the leading UK authority on wellbeing.
Our vision
To significantly contribute to a future where the wellbeing of people and communities in the UK improves year-on-year and wellbeing inequalities are reduced.
Our purpose
To find out what works to improve wellbeing and partner to put that evidence into action and create conditions for us all to thrive, now and in the future.
Our mission
- Find global wellbeing evidence, synthesising insights and accelerating access to robust research so that it is easy to find, understand and compare.
- Share the knowledge as a public good, democratising access through translation, ensuring robust and relevant evidence reaches the right audiences in the most accessible way.
- Grow the evidence base by identifying gaps and working together to fill them through more trials and studies, creating a learning system for wellbeing.
- Convene people from across research, policy and practice, and amplify voices of those with low wellbeing, to share knowledge, create opportunities, and nurture new collaborations.
- Guide people to use evidence of ‘what works’ to shape policy making and practice, and support them to generate meaningful evidence of their wellbeing impact.
- Mobilise people to take evidence-informed action to improve lives and reduce wellbeing inequalities, and establish cultures where improvements in wellbeing are valued, meaningful and ambitious.
Our approach
We take a life course approach to wellbeing research and practice, which is:
- Trusted
- Independent
- Evidence-based
- Collaborative
- Practical
- Iterative
- Open
Our focus
We focus on where we can make the biggest difference, based on current knowledge, expertise and networks:
- National wellbeing methods and measures
- Working age
- Place and community
- Loneliness and connection
> Find out more about our work and how we achieve our aims
> Read our strategy
Our audiences and collaborators
- Government – national and local leaders, departments, and wider public sector bodies, commissioners and funders.
- Research – individuals and research organisations across the UK and globally.
- Business – large, small and multinational, and professional bodies.
- Civil society – charities, social enterprises and community groups, as well as funders and commissioners.
We’d love to partner with you, so please get in touch.
> Learn more about how you can collaborate with us
We are part of the What Works Network and The Evidence Quarter. This network improves the way government and other organisations create, share and use high-quality, robust evidence for decision-making.
As a registered Community Interest Company, we are a non-profit organisation that relies on funding grants and donations to continue our work.
> View our current and former funders and partners.