Canadian Index of Wellbeing
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About
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) is a new way of measuring well-being that goes beyond narrow economic measures like GDP. It will provide insights into the quality of life of Canadians – overall, and in specific areas that matter: living standards, health, environment, education, time use, community vitality, democratic engagement, and leisure and culture. In short, the CIW is the only national index that measures well-being in Canada across a wide spectrum of domains. The CIW goes beyond conventional silos and shines a spotlight on the interconnections among these important areas: for example, how changes in income and education are linked to changes in health. The CIW is a robust information tool, one that policy shapers, decision makers, media, community organizations and the person on the street will be able to use to get the latest trend information in an easily understandable format.
The CIW currently provides:
- A comprehensive composite index designed by an interdisciplinary team of Canadian and international experts to measure the overall well-being of Canada. See the report, "How are Canadians "Really" doing?" (October 2011)
- Eight detailed research reports on different, but interconnected, categories of wellbeing:
Living Standards (June 2009), Healthy Populations (June 2009), Community Vitality (June 2009), Democratic Engagement (January 2010), Time Use (June 2010), Leisure & Culture (June 2010), Education (September 2010), and Environment (April 2011).
- Special reports on the recession (July 2009) and select Canadian population sub-groups: low income, aboriginal peoples, racialized groups, and youth (December 2009), time crunch (June 2010).
Going forward, the CIW will provide:
- Periodic reports on the well-being of specific population sub-groups.
- And, now that the CIW framework has been fully developed, a composite index – with a single number that moves up or down like the TSX or Dow Jones Industrial, giving a quick snapshot of whether the overall quality of life of Canadians is getting better or worse.
Audio/video on the CIW
Hear Lynne Slotek on well-being <mp3>http://www.canadavalueshealth.ca/mp3/LynneSlotek_CIW_jan212010.mp3</mp3>
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing Network, now based within the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo, hosted a launch event on April 7th, 2011.
Please click here for a selection of videos from the 2011 CIW launch on the following topics:
- Opening remarks by Dr. Susan Elliott, Dean, Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo and Address by the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency The Right Honourable David Johnston.
- Comments by Dr. Geoff McBoyle, Vice-president Academic & Provost, University of Waterloo.
- Comments by Dr. George Dixon, Vice-president University Research, University of Waterloo.
- Comments by Mr. Hugh Mackenzie, President, Atkinson Charitable Foundation.
- Keynote Speech by The Honourable Roy J. Romanow, Chair, CIW Advisory Board.
- Part 1 - Measuring and Fostering the Progress of Societies, OECD June 2007.
Canadian Index of Wellbeing
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) Network is an independent, non-partisan group of national and international leaders, researchers, organizations, and grassroots citizens. The CIW Network is based at the University of Waterloo within the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences. Its mission is to report on the well-being of Canadians, and promote a dialogue on how to improve it through evidence-based policies that are responsive to the needs and values of Canadians.
The CIW Network's signature product is the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW). The CIW measures Canada’s wellbeing and tracks progress in eight interconnected categories. It allows Canadians to see if they are better off or worse off than they used to be -- and why. It helps identify what Canadians need to change to achieve a better outcome and to leave the world a better place for the generations that follow.
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing Composite Index 2011
A comprehensive composite index – the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) – benchmarking Canada’s well-being and tracking progress over time, was launched October 20, 2011 with the report "How are Canadians "Really" doing?". It is the work of Measuring what matters: an innovative initiative at the University of Waterloo in Canada to demonstrate that measuring well-being is as important as measuring the economy.
“Most Canadians realize that our well-being cannot be measured by just narrow economic measures like the GDP,” said the Honourable Roy Romanow, Chair of the CIW Advisory Board. “The CIW is a national tool for tracking and reporting on our overall well-being, on the things that matter to Canadians. The Index provides a snapshot of our country’s progress – or lack of it.”
The CIW covers 64 indicators in eight areas of life in Canada: living standards, healthy populations, community vitality, education, time use, democratic engagement, leisure and culture, and the environment. These areas were chosen based on the values of Canadians, through an in-depth public consultation process across Canada.
The CIW is rather unique in that it is a citizen-driven rather than government-driven project. As of April 2011, the CIW released the last in its series of eight domain reports, thus completing the development phase of the CIW.
Once the Index is released in October, it will promote discussion about the types of policies, programs, and activities that can move us closer and faster toward achieving well-being. In fact, it can be a useful tool for governments of all levels, here and around the world. Dr. Bryan Smale, CIW Director and University of Waterloo professor says “I look forward to sharing our methodology with other countries. It is through collaborative efforts that we will collectively advance the cause to find better ways to measure societal progress.”
For the complete technical paper on the CIW composite, report highlights, infographic and video, please check here from October 20, 2011.
The CIW Network's goals are to:
- Oversee the development and implementation of the CIW that is reflective of Canadian society and in which regional and cultural differences are reflected, nurtured and integrated into the fabric of the work.
- Ensure the ongoing and regular reporting of the CIW through a Communication and Public Engagement Strategy.
- Ensure leading-edge and ongoing research and development of the CIW including further refinement of common standards, pilot testing of sub-indices, collection and compilation of data for health, social, economic, and environmental variables and trends.
- Promote better data collection by identifying gaps in knowledge relevant to measuring well-being.
- Increase and expand the CIW Network with influential leaders and policy makers so that the CIW has an ongoing impact on policy decisions.
- Contribute to societal understanding (statistical literacy) and use of indicators (citizen literacy and engagement).
- Contribute to a measuring well-being movement that will be of benefit to international partners and initiatives.
See Also
- Canada
- Human Well-Being
- How are Canadians Really Doing? The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) offers a comprehensive answer
External links
Other Papers and Publications
- CIW Methodology report- detailed methodological report which actually refers to the European Learning Index, but was replicated off of Canada's index and uses the same methodology.
- Technical Assessment of Canada's Index by the Joint Research Commission in Europe.
- Caught in the Time Crunch: Time Use, Leisure and Culture in Canada, June 2010, Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW), Canada
- Roy Romanow, Chair, Canadian Index of Wellbeing Advisory Board 2nd OECD World Forum, Istanbul, Turkey, 2007.Paper
All documentation about the Composite Learning Index can be found at [1] (in both English and French).
All background information about the Canadian Index of Wellbeing can be found at [2].
