2017.04.06 consulting with citizens in the design of wellbeing measures and policies

Picture credit: Tjaša Žurga Žabkar

Consulting with Citizens in the Design of Wellbeing Measures and Policies:

Lessons from Systems Science Applications

Chris Noone & Michael HoganSchool of Psychology


Acknowledgements


The eternal question…

Eudaimonic Wellbeing

Hedonic Wellbeing

Social Wellbeing

Physical Wellbeing

Lifespan

What about Mental Health difficulties?

How to improve it across society?

What is Wellbeing?


- Subjective Wellbeing- Life Satisfaction- Positive Affect- Negative Affect

- Psychological Wellbeing- Self-acceptance- Personal growth- Purpose in life- Environmental

mastery- Autonomy- Positive relations

with others

- Mental Illness

- Physical Health


- Social Wellbeing- Social acceptance- Social actualization- Social contribution- Social coherence- Social integration

- Collective Wellbeing

- Organisational Wellbeing

- Environmental Wellbeing

- Socio-economic Status

- Social Capital


- GDP

- Unemployment

- Inequality

- Trust in institutions

- Corruption

- Welfare and Health-related Policies

- Human Rights

- Freedom of Press

- Etc…


- Heteronormativity

- Patriarchy

- Nomocracy

- Democracy

- Neoliberalism

- Liberty

- Individualism


Well-being Matters:A Social Report for Ireland (NESC, 2009)

“…a person’s well-being relates to their physical, social and mental state. It requires that basic needs are met, that people have a sense of purpose, that

they feel able to achieve important goals, to participate in society and to live the lives they value

and have reason to value.”


Well-being Matters:A Social Report for Ireland (NESC, 2009)

“People’s well-being is enhanced by conditions that include:

1. Financial and personal security, 2. Meaningful and rewarding work, 3. Supportive personal relationships, 4. Strong and inclusive communities,5. Good health, 6. A healthy and attractive environment, and7. Values of democracy and social justice.”


Key Insights about Wellbeing

• Influenced by many determinants at multiple levels of society

• Emerges from a complex system of interactions between these determinants

• Measures are at their most effective when they are supported by a combination of strong leadership, technocratic policy processes, and wide buy-in from civil society, citizens, and the media


Challenges

• Lack of clarity regarding:

• how best to approach citizen consultations

• how best to use consultation data in the design of wellbeing measures and policies

• how to deal with the complexity of wellbeing


Examples


Warfield’s Systems Science

- Focuses on the coordinated activity of a

group of people in context, as they work to

understand and respond to the

problematic situations they

face

Science of Action

- Integrates a large body of

diverse knowledge that

different stakeholders

consider relevant

- Manages this complexity while

avoiding excessive

cognitive load

Science of Complexity

- Coordinates knowledge skill

from across domains

- Team-based collective

intelligence methods

Science of Generic Design

e.g. physics, chemistry,

biology, psychology,

sociology, economics- Domain-

specific knowledge

- Descriptive and explanatory

methods

Science of Description


Interactive Management

• Integrated design process based in the theory of systems design

• Specifically developed for dealing with complex issues

• Goals are to help participants:• Develop understanding of the issues they face• Establish collective basis for thinking and working

cooperatively• Produce framework for effective action


Interactive Management

• Essential components of IM process• Participants

• Facilitation Team

• Group Methodologies

• Software Support

• Productive Workshop Space


Step 1: Idea Generation

• Silent individual idea generation• Ideas should be concise response to trigger question

• Example:• In the context of developing a new national wellbeing index for

Ireland, what are the strategic objectives that should guide our efforts to enhance the wellbeing of the people of Ireland over the coming decade?


Step 2: Clarification & Categorisation

• Recording , posting, clarifying and categorising ideas on display walls


Step 3: Ranking & Selection

• Vote, rank order, and select ideas for structuring


Step 4: Structuring

• Computer-assisted identification of the inter-dependencies between ideas


Top Ranked Strategic Objectives across Ten Wellbeing domains


Step 4: Structuring


Step 5: Generate Options

• Generating impactful and feasible options which help to realise the identified goals


Ongoing Work with Central Statistics Office (CSO)

EconomicsPublic Safety

Governance & Rights

Natural Resources

Health

EducationOur Time

Employment

Self-perceived Wellbeing

Relationships & Surroundings

Housing Conditions

Wellbeing

Indicators


Conclusions

• Wellbeing is a complex construct and its measurement can be improved by involving the collective intelligence of stakeholders in society

• In order to act to improve societal wellbeing, we need to be able to describe the determinants of wellbeing collectively design measures of them account for the interdependencies between them

• A systems science framework can help guide this work

• Interactive Management is an effective tool which can be used to apply systems science to the measurement of wellbeing


Thank you!

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