Can a local community course improve mental wellbeing and social connection? New RCT findings
This week’s blog comes from Mark Williamson, Director for Action for Happiness. Here, he outlines findings from a Randomised Controlled Trial with our Cross-cutting Methods Evidence team. The trial looked at both self-reported wellbeing and biological outcomes for...
Can reading groups be used to tackle loneliness?
This week we have a joint guest blog from Dr Carina Spaulding at The Reading Agency and Dr Louisa Thomson at Renaisi. The Reading Agency launched Reading Friends, a co-produced befriending programme with the potential to alleviate loneliness and social isolation....
New research, guidance and opportunities in 2020
After five years of collaborating, consolidating, and building the evidence on what works to improve wellbeing, in 2020 we are increasing our support for organisations taking evidence-informed action to improve wellbeing. We’re continuing to collaborate with...
Digital storytelling and measuring wellbeing impact
This week’s guest blog is from Simon Glenister, Founder and Director of the social enterprise Noise Solution, which delivers personalised, one-to-one music mentoring programmes to young people facing a variety of challenging circumstances. In this post, Simon...
Does giving really make us happier than receiving?
This week’s guest blog is from Tom Lane, Assistant Professor in Economics at the University of Nottingham. Here, Tom outlines the key points from his talk on his literature review on how happiness relates to economic behaviour. The idea that being generous makes us...
Findings, collaborations, and action: highlights from 2019
As 2019 wraps up, we're sharing some of the highlights. Click on any of these panels to find out more about the findings, collaborations, projects, and events that happened throughout the year. Have a great winter break, and thank you for being part of the wellbeing...
Embedding mental wellbeing in the curriculum: a new approach from the Open University
How do you approach wellbeing when students aren’t in the classroom? This is the challenge for the Open University. This week’s guest blog is from Kate Lister who manages accessibility and inclusive practice at the university. She describes the new methodology they...
What’s happening across the What Works Network?
This week, we’re giving a round up of wellbeing-related trials and projects from across the What Works Network. As a network, our work aligns to answer relevant policy and practice questions, and the Centres often collaborate. We will be sharing more of the Centre’s...
Understanding and measuring wellbeing: free workshops across the UK
Charities, especially small- and medium-sized ones, want to measure what matters. Funding bodies are increasingly asking for measures that capture real impact, beyond traditional outcomes. Wellbeing is now widely recognised as an evidence-informed, established...
Improving perinatal wellbeing: the role of digital support
This week our guest blog is from Nikki Newhouse, an interdisciplinary researcher in human-computer interaction with the Nuffield Department of Primary Care at the University of Oxford and the UCL Interaction Group. She looks at re-focussing wellbeing of pregnant...
New project in collaboration with Bennett Institute for Public Policy
The Centre has launched a major new project with leading economist, Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, and her team, at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge. Running until end of 2021, the project will give insight into why...