Alternative Metrics of Well-Being to Inform Policy Making

Kudos to Ecotrust for taking on an important topic – examining one of the major public policy goals we seem to have set for society – economic growth. 

For many years, economic growth (Gross Domestic Product or GDP) has been the leading indicator of progress, and how we compare ourselves to others internationally.  Yet, many are begininng to recognize that this is, at best, a crude proxy. In fact, it seems that too much economic prosperity (wealth) has diminishing, and even negative effects on one’s overall well-being.

Ecotrust and their affiliate organization, Economics for Equity and Environment hosted a summit discussion today on The Design of Alternate Metrics of Well-being To Inform Policy Making.

The lead speaker was Juliet Michaelson was from the London-based Centre for Well-being, a program of the New Economics Foundation, or NEF. In her words, the work of NEF is to bridge research and policy-making.  They are focused on environmental sustainability, social justice, and well-being.

To jump to the end, Juliet shared that their work since 2005 has resulted in this summary Five Ways to Well-Being:

1) Connect (check out the site and their slides; much prettier)

2) Be active

3) Take notice

4) Keep learning

5) Give

Note that these are disconnected from employment, unemployment, underemployment, average annual income and other indicators or metrics we are used to seeing, using, reproducing, trending….

I feel fortunate to have been able to attend this event. Juliet and Kristen generously agreed to share the PowerPoint presentations from the event so I was able to listen wrather than take mad notes. However, some other notes before too much time passes, and to share with my office:

- Under the Mayor’s direction, the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and the Mayor’s Office is wrestling with developing they key measures and metrics by which the new Portland Plan will be evaluated over time.

- Juliet acknowledged the challenge and result of normalization on a diverse community; City staff and I agreed that one one one dialog will be essential with people of very different backgrounds to check the level of shared, cross-cultural agreement on the indicators of well-being, or lack thereof.

- Thought leader in this subject Professor Helliwell at the University of British Columbia has summed up his decades of work as follows: “Close in trumps distant. Life is more local than people realize.”  What does this imply for planning, for community? For our economic system, values and incentives?

- Reserachers at the NEF are honing in on “efficiency” relationships between the economic base of resource utilization, societal goals and human systems are a key indicator of greater well-being or happiness on individual and community scales. [Bob Wise was just emphasizing effeciency as a key challenge of our decade last staff meeting. Listen to Bob!]

-  I wrestle with how people will respond to hearing that less consumption is better. I think of Renee Lertzman’s work on the subject of connecting with the environment, and recognizing the complexities of our emotional landscape in this regard.

- Check out the Happy Planet Index for more on that model, developed by NEF in 2005.

-  Juliet also covered understanding well-being and the leading models. NEF integrates the basic two camps into a concept where well being emerges as a part of a system; and emerges when contributing systems thrive. “Flourishing” (functioning well and feeling good) is a concept that is widely used; nice term. Reseracher Martin Seligman summarizes flourishing as the state where there are: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and a sense of accomplishment.

- Juliet recapped leading findings around the causes and benefits of positive emotions.  I like the term “learned optimism” but am still skeptical (though an optimist!).

- She covered Well-Being’s “Journey to Prominence” in the UK in a nice historical recap.  Incubated from cities and caught national attention that is culminated in in Prime Minister David Cameron’s administration’s Foresight Project commissioning the work that resulted in the Five Ways of Well-Being.  When PM Cameron launched the effort in November, 2010, he said “We’ve got to recognize officially, that economic growth is a means to an end.”  Interesting.

- Check out Mappiness, a research project at the London School of Economics.

Since it is late, just one closing thought.  I am amused to recall our own Declaration of Independence which is based on the need to defend our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.  Lots to think about.

Thanks, Ecotrust. 

 For more information, contact Kristen Sheeran, PhD at www.e3netowork.org

Oregon Global Warming Commission in Portland June 9

PSU Sustainable Regional Economy

Bob Wise is going to be a panel chair at the following PSU-City of Portland Symposium. Hope to see you there!

Save the Date
April 30 & May 1
Building University-Community Partnerships for a Sustainable Regional Economy

Join Portland State University President Wim Wiewel, Portland Mayor Sam Adams and other regional leaders to discuss how to create the most sustainable regional economy in the U.S. Hear from experts on how universities contribute to sustainability and help develop a collaborative model to reach shared goals.

Cost: Day 1 – $50, Day 2 – $25

Download the save the date flyer.

What have we been up to lately?

A Year in the Life of Cogan Owens Cogan, LLC

Dear friends,

Is the glass half empty or half full? At a time of great change in our country and here at home, we at Cogan Owens Cogan, LLC tend to be optimists, with a heavy dose of realism. We know 2009 is a tough year in which to be a small business, or any business, but we have faith in ourselves and our clients that we will emerge stronger and even more able to carry out our mission to engage people to create and sustain great communities.

Looking back at the year just past, we want to share with you a summary of the eclectic and enriching array of projects that have given us considerable satisfaction.

As Planner in Residence at Portland State University, Arnold Cogan is providing sage advice to graduate students in the School of Urban Studies and Planning. A highlight of his well-received monthly forums was a recent session with new PSU President, Wim Wiewel, whose professional background, we have been delighted to find, is planning. Arnold and former Governor Vic Atiyeh shared the platform when they were asked to testify at a recent state legislative hearing on the future of land use planning in Oregon.

Elaine Cogan also continues to be sought after as a speaker and trainer in communications and public engagement. She has accepted an invitation to present a three-hour seminar on the subject for the American Planning Association’s annual conference in Minneapolis in April.

Sustainability remains a core activity for us. Kirstin Greene wrote the lead article on climate change for the latest issue of the publication of the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (OAPA).

Kirstin, Bob Wise and Ellie Fiore helped the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition and its 130 member organizations create a community-based sustainability action plan. Three town hall meetings drew more than 1,000 participants – residents, business owners, educators and public officials. The project is featured in the February edition of Planning magazine.

Kirstin also facilitated the development of Clackamas County’s first Sustainability Action Plan. She, Elaine and Steve Faust continue to work with citizens and staff under the County’s Complete Communities program to implement principles of sustainability. The sixth Complete Communities Congress will be held May 16. COC and the County have won several national awards for Complete Communities efforts.

Participants at an Urban Agriculture Forum in Damascus enjoyed stimulating discussion and food for thought. COC collaborated with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and other partners in this effort and produced the executive summary.

Further south in the Willamette Valley, in Eugene, Kirstin, Arnold and Dave Mayfield developed the conditional use permit for the Oregon Arena, a new LEED-certified basketball facility on the University of Oregon campus. We worked with the project architect, developer, technical consultants and city staff to obtain approval for this 21,500 capacity arena.

Bob and Daniel Christensen conducted a detailed financial and feasibility analysis for a Green Economy Center in Clackamas County. In addition, COC and Clackamas County won recognition for the Green Economy Report – an action plan to maximize agricultural, natural resources and sustainability industries in Clackamas County.

For Washington County, Bob led a team to institutionalize a sustainability management organization. He, Kirstin and Teak Wall are leading an effort to help the City of Palm Springs, California, create a sustainability master plan to help guide their sustainable future.

Visioning – assisting communities to work together to realize their highest aspirations – is always challenging and exciting. Elaine and Daniel are midway through a process to help the small Willamette Valley community of Keizer look ahead to the year 2029. One recent notable activity was a Youth Forum at McNary High School where more than 30 teen leaders engaged in frank and open dialogue. Their insights and aspirations will be considered during community-wide visioning sessions.

Jim Owens traveled to Klamath Falls to facilitate several visioning meetings for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At issue were the best financial and physical solutions to restoring an asbestos-contaminated site in a subdivision just outside the city limits.

Mount Spokane and Chief Timothy State Parks in Washington also benefited from Jim’s environmental project management services. The Mount Spokane project entailed the first stage of master plan development, while Chief Timothy is another phase of the Confluence Project, the placement of artwork by Maya Lin in historical locations. In the latter, Dave and Daniel are working with Jim to develop all the necessary permits and approvals.

For the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Jim, Dave, Ellie and Steve conducted interviews with citizens and public officials in communities throughout the state to assess attitudes and support for public transit. The results will be reported to the State Legislature.

After nearly two and a half years and dozens of meetings, the Sellwood Community Task Force, whose work Elaine facilitated, has reached a reasoned and reasonable recommendation about the placement and size of a new Sellwood bridge. A panel of local and State decision makers praised the work of the citizens and affirmed their recommendations.

As busy as we are, each of us finds time to volunteer for community endeavors. We are active on the boards of the City Club of Portland, Urban Land Institute, Oregon Environmental Council, Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association, Three Rivers Land Conservancy, and many more.

These are the highlights of our eventful year. For more, check our website, www.coganowens.com, recently updated by Crystal Jackson. Kudos also to Nancy Marshall, who makes all our graphical materials, including this newsletter, look so special, and to Erin Atkinson and Alisha Dishaw, who help us in more ways than we can mention.

We are eager to hear from you as we embark together on this exciting and challenging year. Please keep in touch.