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...
Measuring impact of the arts as a creative learning charity
This week’s guest blog is the second part to a blog published in September 2018 from June Stevenson, Chief Executive of Artis Foundation, a creative learning charity. Part one looked at the start of Artis’ evaluation journey. June explained why they are using...
Catalyst for change: small grants to support wellbeing
Can a small amount of money really make a difference to someone struggling? What if the focus was on supporting enjoyment instead of the difficulties they faced? This is how the Catalyst programme is supporting people. Nikki Wimborne is part of the programme team for...
Maximising, and evaluating, the benefits of co-design: insights from the Building Connections Fund
This week’s guest blog comes from Michelle Man, Senior Consultant at New Philanthropy Capital. She is currently working on the Building Connections Fund. The Fund supports grant-holders with their impact practice, advising on co-design, and building the evidence base...
Keep calm and carry on? What the new ONS data tells us about our personal wellbeing
This week’s blog unpacks the data from the latest ONS release on personal wellbeing in the UK from April 2018 to March 2019. Dr Marta Moratti, interim Head of Evidence at the Centre, explores why personal wellbeing has held steady over the last year given the...
Natural versus human-built beauty: which impacts our wellbeing more?
This week’s guest blog is an update to a previous blog, Do Scenic Spots Benefit our Health?, by Chanuki Illushka Seresinhe, now a visiting researcher at the Alan Turing Institute. Chanuki offers more detail around the difference between natural and built-up...
Where’s your happy place? Citizen-led asset mapping
It’s been four years in the making but we’ve now launched our exciting new app which empowers citizens to discover and share places in their community that can improve health and wellbeing levels. The Happyplace app is free to download on iOS and Android devices and...