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

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 Measures of National Wellbeing Dashboard, the Trust has developed a tool that provides a single figure for GDWe in England and mapped this against GDP for the past six years. We have supplemented this analysis with a thematic review of over 800 recommendations from nearly 50 commissions and inquiries since 2010 – from Marmot to Grimsey, Dilnot to Taylor – to highlight the many areas of mutual focus, challenge, and concern. The recommendations show that though the data currently being collected by the ONS offers a useful starting point and a framework for measuring wellbeing, there are significant gaps. In this summary, we provide an overview of the main findings, which show that GDWe was in decline before the COVID-19 pandemic began. We have also produced a full report with detailed domain analysis and methodology, available here.