Resource Directory

links-and-resources

The Resource Directory shares GNH related information.

This resource directory highlights various organizations and pieces of work focused on furthering the concept and application of Gross National Happiness.  Collected over several years, some listed items may be of historical interest while others are useful for current policy development.

Please contact us if you have updates or new information to share for the resource directory.

Articles and Opinions
Data Visualization
  • David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization David McCandless turns complex data sets (like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he suggests, is the best way to navigate information glut — and it may just change the way we see the world
  • Gapminder World Gapminder above is about wealth and development and is a tool with 500 data indicators on poverty status to play with.
  • How to Lie with Statistics Free download in various ebook formats
  • John Cochrane’s blog – How to lie with statistics Along with David Leonhardt’s interesting article “Taxmageddon,” last weekend’s New York Times Sunday Review included this pair of graphs. These belong high up in the pantheon of “How to lie with statistics” (one of my favorite books) examples
  • New Study On Teaching With Data Visualization May 4, 2012 by Larry Ferlazzo Earlier today, I posted about a new simple way to create infographics (see
  • Richard Bryne – Seven Tools for Creating Data Visualizations This morning I received an email asking me for some tools for creating data visualizations. Here are seven tools that students can use to build data visualizations.
  • Richard Byrne-Google Fusion Tables – Data Visualization Made Easy Over the last two days at ACTEM’s annual conference I’ve shared Google Fusion Tables to great response. Many people commented that they had never heard of it, but really liked it and plan to explore it some more on their own. This post is a follow-up to yesterday’s conversations. I originally wrote most of this post last winter.
  • Visualising Data Andy Kirk is a UK-based freelance data visualisation architect, consultant, training provider, author and editor of the website visualisingdata.com, a popular data visualisation blog.
  • When the Data Struts Its Stuff IN an uncharted world of boundless data, information designers are our new navigators.
GNH Books
GNH Organizations and Groups
  • Action for Happiness Action for Happiness is a movement for positive social change. We’re bringing together people from all walks of life who want to play a part in creating a happier society for everyone.
  • African Society for Ecological Economics The ASEE is a new pan-African network of people and institutions practicing and supporting Ecological Economics activities in Africa
  • American Human Development Project Our Mission is to provide easy-to-use yet methodologically sound tools for understanding well-being and opportunity in America
  • Anielski Management Inc Anielski Management Inc., is a family-owned corporation which operates on the principles of sustainability and building genuine wealth for communities
  • Asociacion Argentino Uruguaya de Economia GEPAMA (Grupo de Ecolog
  • Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics The purpose of ANZSEE is to provide a focus in the Australasian region for activities in ecological economics
  • Australian Centre on Quality of Life Quality of life is both objective and subjective. Each of these two axes comprises several domains which, together, define the total construct. Objective domains are measured through culturally relevant indices of objective well-being. Subjective domains
  • Australian Unity Australian Unity is a national healthcare, financial services and retirement living organisation providing services to 560,000 Australians
  • Authentic Happiness Authentic Happiness is the homepage of Dr. Martin Seligman, Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of positive psychology, a branch of psychology which focuses on the empirical study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character, and healthy institutions.
  • Beyond GDP The Beyond GDP initiative is about developing indicators that are as clear and appealing as GDP, but more inclusive of environmental and social aspects of progress.
  • BRASS (The Centre for Business Relationships Accountability, Sustainability and Society) The Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS) is an ESRC funded interdisciplinary research centre combining expertise from the Business School, the Law School and the School of City and Regional Planning (CPLAN)
  • Brazilian Society for Ecological Economics A Sociedade Brasileira de Economia Ecol
  • Canadian Index of Wellbeing Canadians share a legacy of coming together during hard times and building a stronger foundation for a vibrant future. As we continue to struggle from the 2008 recession we believe that same legacy holds the key to our collective recovery and growth
  • Canadian Society for Ecological Economics CANSEE is the Canadian chapter of ISEE, the International Society for Ecological Economics
  • Canadian Sustainability Indicators Network The Canadian Sustainability Indicators Network (CSIN) seeks to advance best practices in measurement and sustainability indicator systems in Canada and beyond and, to play a key role in the progress toward global sustainabledevelopment.
  • Center for Rural Studies The Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont works with people and communities to address social, economic, and resource-based challenges through applied research, community outreach, program evaluation, and consulting.
  • Center for Sustainable Economy CSE works to speed the transition to a sustainable society through rigorous analysis of policy, programs, and projects, by developing creative solutions for government agencies, businesses, non-profits, and educators, and by providing expert support for l
  • Centre for Bhutan Studies The Centre for Bhutan Studies (CBS) was established in 1999 through an executive order COM/02/52 of 11 November 1998 from Lyonpo Jigmi Y. Thinley, then the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, subsequent to the approval of the Council of Ministers, the h
  • Centre for Confidence and Well-being The Centre for Confidence and Well-being is a small, charitable organisation based in Scotland
  • Centre for Economic Performance The CEP is an interdisciplinary research centre at the LSE Research Laboratory. It was established by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in 1990 and is now one of the leading economic research groups in Europe. The CEP studies the determinants of economic performance at the level of the company, the nation and the global economy by focusing on the major links between globalisation, technology and institutions (above all the educational system and the labour market) and their impact on productivity, inequality, employment, stability and wellbeing.
  • Centre for Environmental Strategy (University of Surrey) The Centre for Environmental Strategy (CES) is an internationally-acclaimed centre of excellence on sustainable development.
  • Child Trends Indicator Newsletter While it has broad acceptance in many European countries, the measure-ment of subjective well-being has met with some skepticism in the U.S. 1 However, beginning in 2010 and repeated in 2012, a Subjective Well-Being (SWB) module was included in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey. Sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, the SWB module currently surveys individuals ages 15 and above, and links their self-reported well-being to their activities and time use
  • Chinese Ecological Economics Society Chinese Ecological Economics Society CEES
  • Club of Rome The aims of the Club of Rome are: to identify the most crucial problems which will determine the future of humanity through integrated and forward-looking analysis; to evaluate alternative scenarios for the future and to assess risks, choices and opportun
  • Commission of the European Communities GDP and beyond: Measuring progress in a changing world. Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, Brussels
  • Countryside Council for Wales CCW champions the environment and landscapes of Wales and its coastal waters as sources of natural and cultural riches, as a foundation for economic and social activity, and as a place for leisure and learning opportunities. We aim to make the environment
  • Department for Environmental Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
  • Ecological Footprint The Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates the amount of land and ocean area required to sustain your consumption patterns and absorb your wastes on an annual basis
  • Ecorys Ecorys is een organisatie waar je interessant en uitdagend werk doet en waar je nooit ophoudt met leren.
  • ESRC (Economic and Social Research Counsil) We are the UK’s largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. We support independent, high quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector
  • Ethical Markets: Growing The Green Economy Author, Independent Futurist, Worldwide Syndicated Columnist, Advocate for and Consultant on Equitable Ecologically Sustainable Human Development and Socially Responsible Business and Investment
  • European Parliament This is your assembly, the only directly-elected European Union institution. On these pages you will find a short introduction to how the parliament works. We present its powers and functions, explain how Members of Parliament organise their work and expl
  • European Social Survey The European Social Survey (the ESS) is an academically-driven social survey designed to chart and explain the interaction between Europe’s changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations. The ESS was established in 2001, and was led by its founder and coordinator Roger Jowell until his death in December 2011.
  • European Society for Ecological Economics ESEE is a non-profit, member-governed, organisation dedicated to advancing understanding of the relationships among ecological, social and economic systems for the mutual well-being of nature and people.
  • Gallup Organizations and leaders worldwide hire Gallup to create transformative change.
  • General Social Survey The GSS contains a standard ‘core’ of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings. The GSS takes the pulse of America, and is a unique and valuable resource. It has tracked the opinions of Americans over the last four decades.
  • Genuine Wealth Institute The Genuine Wealth Institute is an organization devoted to the development and application of genuine wealth concepts in creating a new economic paradigm that moves individuals, households, communities, towns, cities, regions, states/provinces, countries
  • Global Footprint Network In 2003, Global Footprint Network, a 501c (3) nonprofit organization, was established to enable a sustainable future where all people have the opportunity to live satisfying lives within the means of one planet
  • Global Integrity Project Global Integrity champions transparent and accountable government around the world by producing innovative research and technologies that inform, connect, and empower civic, private, and public reformers seeking more open societies.
  • GPI Atlantic Founded in 1997, GPIAtlantic is an independent, non-profit research and education organization committed to the development of the Genuine Progress Index (GPI)
  • GPI Pacific The Genuine Progress Index Pacific Society is a provincial non-profit research and public education group working to develop and popularize a broad-based index of sustainable development and well-being (Genuine Progress Index) that supports and informs
  • Green Facts: Facts on Health and the Environment Our Mission is to bring complex scientific consensus reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-specialists. We publish clear and faithful summaries of existing scientific reports on environmental and health topics: GreenFacts Digests and GreenFacts Co-Publications. We are an independent non-profit organization with a multi-stakeholder governance and a non-advocacy policy
  • Gross National Happiness The highly informative Bhutanese GNH website
  • GUND Institute Genuine Progress Indicator studies on Northern Vermont 1950-2000
  • Happiness Paradigm What makes you happy- Link to the Happiness Paradigm
  • Happy Planet Index The HPI measures what matters: the extent to which countries deliver long, happy, sustainable lives for the people that live in them.
  • Idea Consult IDEA wants to be a reference in research-based consultancy for local, regional, national and European clients from an independant perspective and create socio-economic added-value
  • Indian Society for Ecological Economics the Society seeks to fulfill the felt need for a catalytic agent and a platform that would facilitate interaction between scholars from various disciplines, particularly economics and the ecological sciences, and including both natural and social sciences
  • International Happiness and Well being Day In observance of the first annual International Day of Happiness will be on March 20, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly resolution A/66/281 in July 2012. We are a collective of international civil society organizations coming together with youth groups and individuals dedicated to sharing information to raise awareness of the importance of Happiness and Well-being for a Sustainable Future.
  • International Institute for Environmental Development IIED builds bridges: between local and global, policy and practice, rich and poor, government and private sector, and across diverse interest groups.
  • International Society for Ecological Economics The Society assists its members and ecological economists, regional societies of ecological economics, related societies, and other organizations in such matters of common concern as can be dealt with more effectively by united action.
  • International Sustainability Indicators Network The International Sustainability Indicators Network (ISIN) was established in 2001 to connect people who work on or are interested in using sustainability indicators to measure progress toward sustainability in their communities, companies, countries, and
  • Leduc The City of Leduc is seeking to better understand its existing relationship with the environment and understand the different areas that contribute to its overall environmental foundation.
  • Levett-Therivel Sustainability Consultants Working for sustainable development mostly for government, public bodies and NGOs: organisations that develop and/or influence policies
  • Local Government Improvement and Developtment LG Improvement and Development (formerly the IDeA) supports improvement and innovation in local government, focusing on the issues that are important to councils and using tried and tested ways of working.
  • London School of Economic and Political Science The CEP is an interdisciplinary research centre at the LSE Research Laboratory. It was established by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in 1990 and is now one of the leading economic research groups in Europe
  • Maryland Genuine Progress indicator We want to share with you our next exciting phase of promoting the Maryland Genuine Progress Indicator. Today, we announced the creation of Facebook and Twitter accounts for the MD-GPI. Here are the sites: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maryland-Genuine-Progress-Indicator/449474101761030 Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarylandGPI Sean McGuire Office for a Sustainable Future, MD-DNR 410.260.8727
  • Measuring What Matters VT CREATING A CULTURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR VERMONT Collaboration of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, GHNUSA, Common Good Vermont & Benchmarks for a Better Vermont.
  • Mind and Life Institute The Mind & Life Institute is a non-profit organization that seeks to understand the human mind and the benefits of contemplative practices through an integrated mode of knowing that combines first person knowledge from the world
  • National Accounts of Well-Being nef is an independent think-and-do tank. We believe in economics as if people and the planet mattered.
  • New Economics Institute Conference References The mission of the New Economics Institute is to conceive, create, communicate, and catalyze new economic theories and practices toward a just and sustainable world.
  • Nielsen Wire We study consumers in more than 100 countries to give you the most complete view of trends and habits worldwide.
  • OECD The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
  • Office for National Statistics ONS is developing new measures of national well-being
  • Redefining Progress Creator of the Genuine Progress Indicator, the Community Indicators Handbook, and the Ecological Footprint Quiz Redefining Progress is the nation
  • Russian Society for Ecological Economics International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) is a nonprofit organization that encourages the integration of economics and ecology into a transdiscipline aimed at developing a sustainable world.
  • Sbilanciamoci! Sbilanciamoci! is a campaign involving 51 associations, NGOs and networks working on globalisation, peace, human rights, environment, fair trade, ethical finance. Since 2000 Sbilanciamoci! has proposed alternatives to the Italian budgetary policies, argui
  • School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) at UBC SCARP’s mission is to advance the transition to sustainability through excellence in integrated policy and planning research, professional education and community service
  • Scottish Environmental Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is Scotland
  • Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is an independent, nonprofit international organization founded in 1923
  • Sustainability Caerphilly
  • Sustainable Development Research Network The Sustainable Development Research Network (SDRN) aims to contribute to sustainable development in the UK by encouraging the better use of evidence and research in policy-making
  • Sustainable Seattle Sustainable Seattle is a regional sustainability indicator organization: you get what you measure. We work with the community to measure and make progress towards sustainability.
  • The Academy of Human Potential Dr. Mark Atkinson is a internationally renowned pioneer in the field of integrative medicine and a leading specialist in mind-body approaches to resilience, emotional health and human flourishing.
  • The Center for Bhutan Studies GNH The Centre for Bhutan Studies is a research institute for social science and public policy, the one of its only kind in the kingdom.
  • The Community Indicators Consortium project CIC was organized in the belief that information sharing, collaboration and open dialogue — across geography and disciplines — are key to the advancement of people, the quality of community life and the sustainability of our shared environment. To that end, CIC seeks bridges that span the gap between community indicators use and performance measurement, providing ways for community groups and governments to coordinate efforts and jointly enhance knowledge about the use of indicators to leverage positive change.
  • The Compassionate Mind Institute The Foundation aims to promote wellbeing through the scientific understanding and application of compassion
  • The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index provides an in-depth, real-time view of Americans’ well-being, giving governments, communities
  • The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
  • The University of Scheffield – Centre for Health and Well-being in Public Policy The Centre for Health and Well-being in Public Policy considers how people
  • The Wellbeing Institute – University of Cambridge The Well-being Institute (WBI) is a new cross-disciplinary initiative which aims to promote the highest quality research in the science of well-being, and to integrate this research into first rate evidence-based practice
  • The Welsh Economy Research Unit Working to achieve the very highest international standards in research, teaching and other activities that we can realise the full potential of the academic community that is Cardiff University
  • The Working Group The Working Group on Climate Change and Development is a unique and diverse network of development and environment organisations. Its central message is that solving poverty and tackling climate change are intimately linked and equally vital, not either/o
  • The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) project was initiated in 1991. The aim was to develop an international cross-culturally comparable quality of life assessment instrument. It assesses the individual’s perceptions in the context of their culture and value systems, and their personal goals, standards and concerns. The WHOQOL instruments were developed collaboratively in a number of centres worldwide, and have been widely field-tested.
  • The Young Foundation The Young Foundation brings together insights, innovation and entrepreneurship to meet social needs
  • U.N. High Level Meeting on Wellbeing and Happiness Website 4-2 2012 Wellbeing & Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm
  • UNDP UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global pe
  • United Nations Development Programme The mission of the Human Development Report Office (HDRO) is to advance human development
  • United States Society for Ecological Economics The USSEE is one of many regional professional organizations within the umbrella society of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE)
  • Vermont Nonprofits & the Culture of Accountability: Working Together to Improve Vermont’s Well-Being Greetings from Channel 17/ Town Meeting TV: Vermont Nonprofits & the Culture of Accountability: Working Together to Improve Vermont’s Well-Being was recorded on 2013-03-21.
  • Wellington College Wellington College is the place where a fusion of originality, innovation and 150 years of tradition and history produces an education unlike any other
  • Welsh Assembly Government We aim to be open and responsive to the needs of citizens and communities and are one of the few governments in the world that publishes Cabinet minutes and papers
  • Worldbank The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world, aiming to reduce poverty.
  • WWF For 50 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature. The world
  • YourMorals.Org Welcome to YourMorals.org, where you can learn about your own morality, ethics, and/or values, while also contributing to scientific research. We are a group of professors and graduate students in social psychology at the University of Virginia, The University of California (Irvine), and the University of Southern California. Register and take the survey to get your results.
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