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Single-Nation Indices of Wellbeing

Australia

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Australia's Welfare 2001
Department of Health and Ageing
"Measuring Wellbeing"
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Tasmania Together
20 year social, environmental and economic plan for Tasmania. From February to May 2000, Tasmanians were asked what they wanted for Tasmania's future. This document contains their vision of where they want the state to be in the year 2020, a set of goals and some targets or 'benchmarks' to measure how well we are achieving these goals.
Indicators of Well-Being in Regional and Rural Communities in Victoria
Accessed from the ABS home page by following the links: Themes, Victoria, News, Regional Indicators project.
Measuring Australia's Progress (MAP)

The title of a proposed new ABS publication that will assess progress in Australia across the environmental, social and economic aspects of life. The first issue of MAP is scheduled for release in early 2002; the ABS expect to issue updates of the publication thereafter, perhaps annually. The consultation documents are shown below.

Eye on Australia Report
Over the past 10 years, a national sample of 500 Australians have been surveyed in relation to their attitude to advertising, shopping, their spending patterns, time, technology and happiness.
Relationships Australia
Relationships Australia delivers a wide range of services, including counselling, family dispute resolution, personal development and education, parenting skills training, men and family relationships programs, specialised family violence programs, early intervention services, child-focused programs and practices, and programs which specifically engage indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families, groups and communities.
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

The RIRDC has released a report on Small Town Renewal. The report draws on the experience of the growing number of rural communities, both within Australia and internationally, that have recognised the long term effects of population and service decline, and have opted not to merely cope with a declining quality of life, but to adapt, embrace change and begin to prosper.

The Executive Summary of the report is available at
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/HCC/01-043sum.htm
and the full report at
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/HCC/01-043.pdf

The associated handbook to generate action for community change and renewal by focussing on what communities are doing and can do is available at
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/HCC/01-043Manual.pdf

Healthy Parks, Healthy People. The Health Benefits of Contact with Nature in a Park Context: A Review of Current Literature. Melbourne: Deakin University and Parks
Final Report (doc ~ 1.1mb)

Canada

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Asking Citizens what matters for Quality of Life in Canada. A Rural Lens.
Canadian Policy Research Networks
2001 Quality of Life in Canada
A Report from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Released by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, this 114-page report is the second such report in two years on the quality of life in Canada. The quality of life reporting system uses nine key indicators: "community affordability, employment, housing, community health, safety, community stress, community participation, human resources and social infrastructure." The report finds that despite Canada's excellent social support networks, the gap between the rich and poor in the country's urban centers is growing. In addition to data on the nine indicators, the report features an appendix with highlights from the 1999 report.

Ireland

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The Goodness Index
Guiness UDV Ireland Quality of Life Report
Email: gerard.oneill@amarach.com

New Zealand

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Six Cities Quality of Life
The Quality of Life Project was initiated in response to growing pressures on urban communities, concern about the impacts of urbanisation and the effects of this on the well being of residents.
Ministry of Social Development 'Social Report'
Indicators of social wellbeing in New Zealand

United Kingdom

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Centre for Neighbourhood Research
This site is no longer being maintained
United Kingdom Government's Quality of Life Counts publication (QOLC)
The source for Indicators of sustainable development for the United Kingdom. The QOLC provides a baseline assessment, looking in detail at a core set of 147 indicators.
People's Perceptions of their neighbourhood and community involvement
Results from the social capital module of the General Household Survey 2000.

USA

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America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being, 2001
The 2001 edition (last edition reviewed in the July 21, 2000 Scout Report) of this annual compendium of statistical indicators on US children, produced by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, has been placed online. This issue, which contains twenty-four indicators in four topics, shows overall improvement in children's well-being but also reports continuing and significant disparities, principally along economic lines. Information is presented in non-technical terms with heavy use of charts and tables. The full text of the report, including the appendices, is available for download in HTML or pdf format. Users may also browse the report highlights, the official press release, and two special features on asthma prevalence and youth employment
Assessing the quality of community life: Detroit area study 2001, University of Michigan
Household survey covering the attitudes, behaviors, and living conditions of metro Detroit area residents.
Genuine Progress Indicator
Redefining Progress created the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) in 1995 as an alternative to the gross domestic product (GDP). The GPI enables policymakers at the national, state, regional, or local level to measure how well their citizens are doing both economically and socially.
America's Children Key National Indicators of Wellbeing, 2002
The report presents key indicators on important aspects of children's lives
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