Improving use of wellbeing in research and practice – Methods Series

In our role as an independent collaborating centre and thought leader, the What Works Centre for Wellbeing brings together the disparate theoretical threads to draw out what this means, practically, for decision makers. The Centre recognises wellbeing as a multi-dimensional concept, where a range of definitions and measures may apply and are useful for different purposes.

We don’t have just one measure of health or illness; we have many different tools designed to help us understand each in different situations. We’d like to encourage discussion of how different approaches to understanding and measuring wellbeing might be applied as ‘the best tool for the job’ in different situations as well.

This series of discussion papers, ‘how-to guides’, and sector perspectives include inputs from leaders in the field. It draws together views of how we could define and measure wellbeing and use this in decision-making in different sectors across UK.

Our Measuring Wellbeing series includes

• Prof Layard Using Subjective Wellbeing (Discussion paper 1)
• Prof Huppert  Using Wider psychological wellbeing measures (Discussion paper 2)
  • Academic Perspective Measurement really matters 
  • Abdallah Insights from European Social Survey
• Prof Dolan, Kundra, and Testoni  Using Experiential Measures of Subjective Wellbeing (Discussion paper 3)
  • Academic Perspective If you really want to know how happy we are ask often 
• Measuring wellbeing inequalities: a how-to guide
• Prof Sarah Stewart-Brown Insights and Reflections on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scales (WEMWBS)

Related content and discussion

• Understanding happiness: ways to measure wellbeing including text and social media analysis
• Towards a WELLBY, a Wellbeing-adjusted life year
• Prof De Neve Beyond GDP: the economics of human wellbeing
• McManus Why nuance is needed when evaluating wellbeing
• Singh Sector Perspective How can we tell our story if we’re not measuring what we do?
• Singh Sector Perspective We’ve always done it, so why don’t we measure it? 
• Goodwin-Brown Sector Perspective Conversation with Funders on wellbeing evidence 

Using measures in practice

• Scottish Government Wellbeing Outcomes and Devolved Government
• The Childrens Society Measuring Children’s Wellbeing in Practice
• Bromley by Bow Centre Who decides wellbeing measures 
• Triangle Using Outcomes Stars
• Work Foundation Measuring the impact of employee assistance programmes 
• Artis Foundation Measuring Impact of the Arts as a creative learning charity 
• Wellbeing measurement and people with learning disabilities
  • Leonard Cheshire Charity When off the shelf can miss the mark 
  • Scottish Commission for Learning Disability Measuring Quality of Life for people with learning disabilities