Canadian Index of Wellbeing
In Canada, these domains include community vitality, democratic engagement, education, environment, healthy populations, leisure and culture, living standards, and time use.
[5] Beyond providing a companion measure to GDP, one of the primary objectives of the CIW is to identify interconnections among numerous factors that affect the wellbeing of Canadians.
Examining wellbeing from a multidimensional perspective, the CIW recognises that policy decisions and programmes can affect the experiences, perceptions, and opportunities beyond the specific area for which they were intended.
The CIW is a citizen-driven initiative, which differs from other countries where government is actively involved in measuring and promoting wellbeing (e.g., UK, Italy, France, Germany, Australia, Bhutan).
The ACF organized a workshop in 1999 which brought together experts in social indicators research to consider the question, "What would it take to create a tool to measure the wellbeing of Canadians?"
It was agreed that such an endeavour would require a strong management structure, adequate financial support for the length of the project, and importantly, a solid base of rigorous research in order to ensure validity and credibility.
The process incorporated expert advice, broad public consultations, and contributions of research teams from across Canada, as well as discussions with government officials and potential users.
Participants' specializations included community development, economics, education, environmental studies, health promotion, political science, and recreation, arts, and culture.
Practitioners and government officials who were potential users of the index also participated in these discussions, and collectively began reviewing and assessing the information required to narrow the focus to the domains specifically regarded by Canadians as most essential to overall quality of life.
Based on the workshops and discussions from 1999 to 2004 and an ongoing environmental scan that identified, monitored, and considered other initiatives undertaken internationally, the CRAG selected in 2005 the final eight domains that would comprise the conceptual framework laid out by the CIW (see Figure 1).
Close to 250 individuals participated, including business leaders, government officials, Aboriginal peoples, members of the media, and representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The project is housed in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences where the research, community outreach, and knowledge transfer activities supported by the CIW can be further developed.
At the third level, the individual indicators contribute a more nuanced understanding of how specific aspects of wellbeing in each domain vary according to changes in social trends and policy over time.
The composite index delivers information about the domains in which some groups, such as seniors or new immigrants, appear to enjoy a higher quality of life compared to the areas in which they are falling behind.
These types of comparisons have the potential to facilitate greater collaboration among different groups and regions to share strategies and policy responses to address shortfalls.
