Wellbeing Indices – case study of the Oxfam Humankind Index

We’ve already heard about a number of initiatives at international and national level that try to measure a country’s performance in a more holistic way rather than by looking at economic output alone.

Oxfam is one notable example of a third-sector organisation that has developed their own wellbeing measure. The Oxfam Humankind Index was developed in collaboration with the New Economics Foundation, the Carnegie UK Trust and others to measure prosperity in Scotland. Based on a large-scale consultation involving around 3000 people, it sets out 18 factors of prosperity, including among others social relations, health, employment, the physical environment or financial security. In particular the need for better indicators for good quality work and to take into account the relationship between family and friends is emphasised.

We talk to Dr Katherine Trebeck, Senior Researcher at Oxfam Scotland, to learn more about the motiviation behind and the construction of the Oxfam Humankind Index.