Publication
Overview on the development of a Well-being Framework for Ireland
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
The development of an overarching Wellbeing Framework for Ireland is rooted in a different way of thinking about how we are doing as a country and is driven by a desire to do better by people.
The traditional ways Governments have measured economic performance don't always provide a comprehensive picture of quality of life. These approaches often don't capture the broader picture, including sustainability, equality or people's lived experiences.
The value in developing a Well-being Framework is that it provides a more complete view of whether, taken as a whole, things are getting better or worse. It also assesses Ireland's relative performance, whether progress is equal across groups of people, and whether it is sustainable into the future.
Crucially, the Framework can help make more joined-up policy decisions by bringing different aspects of people's lives together under one framework.
Through consultation and engagement, it can also contribute to a shared understanding of what makes for better lives. Over time, it is intended that the Well-being Framework will be used across policymaking. An initial pathway for embedding the Framework is outlined in Taking the Well-being Project Forward .
The overarching Vision, Goals and Conceptual Framework for this framework is "enabling all our people to live fulfilled lives now and into the future". The approach is fundamentally about making people's lives better by better understanding people's lived experiences, and therefore how Government decisions and actions can have the greatest positive, sustainable impact.
As other countries have done, Ireland's Framework has been designed so that it is reflective of the OECD How's Life Model , to allow for meaningful international comparison, but adjusted to the Irish context and perspective.
Accompanying the Framework is a supporting interactive dashboard, the CSO Well-being Information Hub , and annual analysis draws from this as a complementary input into the budget process. It measures life and progress in Ireland through a cohesive set of indicators, which flow directly from the Framework, and places a particular focus on sustainability and equality.
More detail on the development of the Framework is set out in the Government’s First and Second Reports on the Well-being Framework for Ireland.
• What are the Well-being dimensions that make up the Framework?
• What is the Dashboard?
• How will the Framework be used?
• How was the Framework developed?
11 aspects of people’s lives were chosen to make up the Framework. These are called the dimensions of the framework:
• Subjective Well-being (Life Satisfaction; Emotional State; Meaning/Purpose)
• Mental and Physical Health (Physical Health; Mental Wellness; Access to Health Services)
• Income and Wealth (Disposable Income; Wealth; Economic Security)
• Knowledge, Skills and Innovation (Skills for Life; Formal Education; Innovation and Creativity)
• Housing and Built Environment (Access to Housing; Quality of Housing; Built Environment)
• Environment, Climate and Biodiversity (Experienced Environment; Environmental Quality; Human Impact)
• Safety and Security (Incidence of Crime; Threats to Safety; Perception of Safety)
• Work and Job Quality (both paid and unpaid) (Work Quantity; Work Quality; Work Satisfaction)
• Time Use (Demands on Time; Personal Time; Satisfaction with Time Use)
• Connections, Community and Participation (Social Quantity; Social Quality; Community and Cultural Participation)
• Civic Engagement, Trust and Cultural Expression (Opportunity and Impact; Institutional Trust; Cultural Expression, Identity and Non-Discrimination)
For more information on the dimensions see the Conceptual Framework.
The dashboard is a cohesive set of 35 indicators which flow directly from the conceptual framework and its dimensions. The CSO host an interactive version that provides up to date information on these indicators available at the Well-being Information Hub . In addition, the Government will publish a high-level analysis annually of the dashboard to capture a broad overview of quality of life, equality and sustainability.
A clear pathway to progress this work over time has been set out in the Second Report, including:
1. Annual analysis of the well-being dashboard, feeding into the high-level priority consideration phase of the Budgetary process.
2. Developing a broader evidence base and research tools.
3. Continued exploration of the integration of a Well-being perspective into expenditure and policy evaluation, building on performance and equality budgeting.
4. Oversight structures and approaches for well-being across Government.
Other innovative uses of the Framework will evolve as it is embedded into policy-making over time. For more information, see ‘Taking the project forward’.
The development of the Framework was based on a number of core principles, including to:
• build on extensive work already undertaken
• be cohesive, understandable and impactful over time
• pursue an iterative approach to allow for its evolution as its uses in the Irish context become clearer and more bespoke data becomes available
• generate buy-in from policymakers and stakeholders.
Significant progress has been achieved over a relatively short period of time, with the development of a Conceptual Framework and accompanying interactive dashboard for Ireland, supported by two phases of consultation and bespoke research. In 2021 the Government's First Report on a Well-being Framework for Ireland was published . It captured the first phase of this work and set out the guiding vision and ambitions, alongside an initial Well-being Framework and supporting Dashboard of Indicators, informed by significant consultation with stakeholders carried out by the National Economic and Social Council.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) played a central role in the development and design of the interactive dashboard and this is available at [external-link https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-wbhub/well beinginformationhub/ | Well-being Information Hub on the CSO website. ]
The second phase of the work, captured in a Second Report - A Well-being Framework for Ireland included a comprehensive Public Conversation and specific research which tested the initial framework. This led to a refinement of the Framework, in particular placing a stronger focus on sustainability.