Gross Domestic Wellbeing (GDWe): an alternative measure of social progress

Gross Domestic Wellbeing (GDWe)™ offers a holistic alternative to GDP as a measure of social progress. Using the framework and data in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Measures of National Wellbeing Dashboard, Carnegie UK developed a tool that provided a single figure for GDWe in England and mapped this against GDP between 2014-2020.

In this report, we provided both an analysis of overall Gross Domestic Wellbeing (GDWe) between 2014-2020, and an individual GDWe score for each of the 10 domains of wellbeing in the ONS dashboard, to highlight areas that required attention. We supplemented the analysis with a thematic review of over 800 recommendations from nearly 50 commissions and inquiries since 2010 to highlight the many areas of mutual focus, challenge, and concern.

The recommendations showed that though the data being collected by the ONS offered a useful starting point and a framework for measuring wellbeing, there were significant gaps. An overview of the main findings is provided in our summary document.