Measuring what matters

‘Statistics are the bedrock of democracy, in a country where we care about what is happening. We must measure what matters - the key elements of national well-being. We want to develop measures based on what people tell us matters most.’

Jil Matheson, National Statistician, November 25 2010

Aim of the ONS Measuring National Well-being Programme is to develop and publish:

an accepted and trusted set of National Statistics which help people to understand and monitor national

well-being

Sharing a common international goal

Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress

Big questions:

What is national well-being? What matters?

How can it be measured?

Who will use the measures and for what?

The debate

Debate ran between November 2010 and April 2011, asking ‘what matters to you?’

Held 175 events around the country attended by over 7,000 people

Generated over 34,000 responses from online forums and other channels

Helped identify key areas that matter most

What matters?

Health

Relationships

Work

Environment

Education and training

Common underlying themes of fairness and equality

Commonly used words in the debate

‘My faith’

‘Free access to green spaces free of litter and noise

and pollution’

‘The well-being of my family

and friends. Good coffee

and tea. Nice food. Good

books and music. Sleep.

Many things matter to me’

‘A fair and just society’

‘A collective sense

of purpose.’

What people said

What have we learned?

Individual well-beingObjective measures e.g. employment status, Subjective measurese.g. happiness

Localitye.g. availability of green space, strength of community involvement

Equitye.g. how well circumstances, experiences and feelings distributed across society

SustainabilityHow well current levels of well-being can be sustained into future or between generations

National well-being is:

What have we learned?

Defra Sustainable Development Indicators

‘Measuring Scotland’s Progress’

Measuring children’s and young people’s well-being

People who do not live in ‘households’

Important to build on range of existing work across government and academia:

Approaches to measuring subjective well-being

Measuring national

well-being

How will we measure well-being?

Framework which reflects the underlying concepts

Domains and dimensionsidentified

Measures proposed

Iterative consultationto test and refine indicators

Work already underway

Inclusion of questions on subjective well-being in the ONS Integrated Household Survey (IHS) from April 2011

Collaboration with international organisations and other countries

Working with others including policy makers and academics

Subjective well-being questions in Integrated Household Survey April 2011 (c 200,000 pa)

Scale

0 -10

Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?

Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?

Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?

Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?

What will measures be used for?

Public interestcompare how different groups and areas are doing

compare the UK with other countries

Policybackdrop and framework for policy development

policy evaluation to take account of impact on well-being

National well-being measures

What next?

National well-being measures published Autumn 2011

First annual experimental statistics on subjective well-being July 2012 (interim earlier)

On-going engagement with public and partners

Supplementary papers

Findings from the national well-being debatehttp://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/well-being/wellbeing/understanding-wellbeing/findings-from-the-national-well-being-debate.pdf

Developing a framework for understanding and measuring national well-beinghttp://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/well-being/wellbeing/understanding-wellbeing/developing-a-framework-for-understanding-and-measuring-national-well-being.pdf

Measuring children’s and young people’s well-beinghttp://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/well-being/wellbeing/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-children-s-and-young-people-s-well-being.pdfMeasuring subjective well-being

Measuring economic well-beinghttp://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/well-being/wellbeing/understanding-wellbeing/measuring-economic-well-being.pdf

Stakeholder Engagement

Please discuss & feedback your thoughts on the following:• How would you define the role of a stakeholder?• What does being a stakeholder mean to you?• What do you think should come out of a stakeholder programme?• In what ways would you like to be engaged as a Stakeholder?• What benefits would you like to get from being a stakeholder?• What domains would you choose to measure well-being. What hierarchy would they be in and why?