Maximising Local Area Wellbeing

Knowing ‘What Works’ to maximise wellbeing is important; but it is only part of the journey. It is also important to know how it works and, most importantly, how to use and implement it. 

With this project, we set out to gain a better understanding of wellbeing policy making across different focus areas and local needs. 

To explore how to prepare local government policy in a way that maximises local wellbeing, we tested a range of tools and techniques to:

• Define what wellbeing means in local areas.
• Gather wellbeing data and assess wellbeing needs.
• Source evidence of what works to improve wellbeing and review how this applies in each area.
• Select measures to understand wellbeing impact.
• Effectively review and evaluate policy.

Supported by our dedicated local authority lead, Joanne Smithson, the programme provided tailored support for local authorities to place wellbeing evidence at the heart of policy. 

The local authorities and their wellbeing areas of focus are listed in this table:

As part of the work, we produced a maturity model for wellbeing policy making which can be downloaded through the tile below.

We also produced a comprehensive report which reflects on the three year programme. The report is titled Learning from research and practice: Local government policy making to maximise wellbeing and can be downloaded through the tile below.

You can read summaries of the practitioners personal learnings in a range of contexts in the guest blogs below.