fair and sustainable wellbeing

1st International SoBigData Workshop September 5, 2016

Measuring fair and sustainable wellbeing: definition and indicators Filomena Maggino Università degli Studi di Firenze (Florence, Italy)

the BES project in Italy

Filomena Maggino Università degli Studi di Firenze (Florence, Italy)

Shared idea: In order to define new indicators of national progress and wellbeing we need

civil society

experts

to define concepts and domains

to select and construct indicators

Shared idea: In order to define new indicators of national progress and wellbeing we need

civil society

experts

to define concepts and domains

to select and construct indicators

Many initiatives are going on

all over the world …

What is going on in Italy

concerning the definition of new indicators of progress and wellbeing?

http://www.misuredelbenessere.it/

fair and sustainable wellbeing measuring and assessing the progress of the Italian society

http://www.misuredelbenessere.it/

fair and sustainable wellbeing

BES is a joint initiative CNEL (National Council for Economics and Labour) and

ISTAT (Italian National Institute of Statistics)


BES is a joint initiative CNEL (National Council for Economics and Labour) and

ISTAT (Italian National Institute of Statistics) Launched in 2010


BES is a joint initiative • aimed at identifying new indicators for measuring the progress of the country • through a particular process able to involve unions and management, civil society and academic experts • by considering concepts not only related just to [macro]economics but also to equity and sustainability with reference to social and environmental dimensions


wellbeing multidimensional analysis of more relevant aspects of citizens’ quality of life fair focus on distribution of the determinants of wellbeing among groups and across areas sustainable guarantee of the same wellbeing for future generations


Two committees Steering Committee

Scientific Committee

CNEL & ISTAT

ISTAT

unions and management, civil society, …

ISTAT researchers and academics professors

April 2011 – December 2012

May 2011 – December 2012


Two committees Steering Committee

Scientific Committee

CNEL & ISTAT

ISTAT

defining domains

selecting indicators

12 domains were defined

134 indicators


Public consultation


Public consultation Being in good health Ensuring social and economic future to one’s children Having a satisfying and decent job Obtaining a adequate income Having good relationships with friends and relatives Being happy with love Feeling secure with reference to crime Having a good level of education Caring for present and future environmental conditions Living in a society where people have faith for each other Having well-functioning public institutions Having public services of good quality Having adequate and good free time Being able to influence policy decision at local and national level Participating in community life Source: Istat

Mean 9,7 9,3 9,2 9,1 9,1 9,0 9,0 8,9 8,9 8,9 8,8 8,7 8,5 7,8 7,1

% of 10 79,9 66,1 59,5 56,0 53,2 53,6 56,3 48,8 48,3 48,8 46,6 43,9 37,4 30,6 18,7

Importance score (0 to 10) – Year 2011


Annual survey on what counts for wellbeing

BES: deliberative process

(24 thousands families)

Steering committee

12 domains On-line questionnaire (2500 persons)

and blog

Discussions

Regional meetings and blog

Scientific committee

134 indicators

Final report


Institutional referent

the Italian Parliament


Conceptual framework


Conceptual framework Wellbeing

Fairness of its distribution Limits in its promotion


Conceptual framework Wellbeing 1. Wellbeing: the micro (individual) level

quality of life

2. Wellbeing: the macro (societal/community) level

quality of society


Conceptual framework Wellbeing A bi-dimensional model

W. Zapf (1975, 1984)

• living conditions -

outcomes

-

resources and capabilities

-

external circumstances

-

subjective evaluations

• subjective wellbeing -

cognitive and affective components

-

positive and negative components

1. Quality of life


Conceptual framework Wellbeing Economic cohesion and social inclusion • social and political activities and engagements (associations, organizations, …) • participation (social and political activities and engagements in associations, organizations, …) • performance of societal institutions • social relations (informal networks)

2. Quality of society

• quality of relations (e.g., shared values, conflicts, solidarity) • trust in institutions


Conceptual framework Equity Distribution of wellbeing social exclusion / disparities / inequalities -

inequalities among individuals, groups, societies (genders, generations, disabled, races, citizenship groups, ...) disparities among geographical areas, regions, ...


Conceptual framework Sustainability Approaches to sustainability

vulnerability


Conceptual framework Sustainability

Factors of vulnerability: - negative - positive

risks resilience


Domains


Domains


Indicators


Indicators


Complexity The set of indicators allows us a cross-sectional and integrated picture by showing a wide view of citizens’ quality of life by monitoring also inequalities and risks.


March 11 2013

First BES report Trends Visualization


June 26 2014

Second BES report Trends Visualization


December 2015

Third BES report



Side projects



2012

a network of metropolitan cities experimenting and comparing BES indicators in urban context It is configured as a spatial variation of the Bes, focused on the role of cities and urban system.


2012

a network of metropolitan cities Bari• Bologna • Brescia • Cagliari • Florence • Genoa • Messina • Milan • Naples • Palermo • Pesaro • Reggio Calabria • Rome • Turin • Urbino • Venice


GOALS Developing specific approaches to measure fair and sustainable well-being in cities Producing more/different indicators by using short, medium and long term statistical available at central and local level Supporting processes aimed at planning and evaluating urban policies Promoting initiatives involving citizens (consultations, discussions and debates)


GOALS Exploring the application of a multidimensional instrument (UrBES) 1. in planning, monitoring and evaluating policies in municipalities 2. in the procedure of citizens’ participation with reference to those process


(1) planning, monitoring and evaluating policies in municipalities Experimental group

ISTAT and Bologna, Brescia, Cesena, Florence, Perugia, Palermo, Prato, Reggio Emilia, Terni


(1) planning, monitoring and evaluating policies in municipalities Experimental group Criteria of indicators selection

appropriateness and adequacy in :

a) providing a measure of improvement/deterioration in qualifying aspects of urban QoL b) allowing comparisons between territories and across time. The discussion led to an enrichment of some BES domains, like Environment, Landscape and Cultural Heritage, Quality of services.


(2) citizens’ participation The aspect of citizens’ participation has been explored by an experimental group (Bologna, Genoa, Milan, Venice). Processes of consultation have been activated by involving local stakeholders Discussion

relevance of the 12 domains


June 15 2013

First UrBES report


June 15 2013 60 indicators 45 from national BES 15 concerning topics which are meaninful at urban level

20 new indicators Not immediately available. Necessity to explore their relevance, adequacy and feasibility (e.g., income inequality estimation at municipality level starting from fiscal archive)


April 23 2015 64 indicators the involved cities Bari • Bologna • Bolzano • Brescia • Cagliari • Catania • Catanzaro • Cesena • Forlì • Florence • Genoa • Livorno • Messina • Milan • Naples • Palermo • Parma • Perugia • Prato • Pesaro • Potenza • Prato • Reggio Calabria • Reggio Emilia • Rome • Terni • Trieste • Turin • Urbino • Venice • Verona



Alessandria • Vercelli • Genova • Milano • Mantova • Cremona • Treviso • Trieste • Bologna • Ravenna • Parma • Rimini • Forlì-Cesena • Pesaro e Urbino • Pisa • Grosseto • Terni • Salerno • Lecce • Roma • Potenza


2014

First BES provinces report


2015

Second BES provinces report


Side activities


Are indicators enough?


Are indicators enough? two strategic and institutional sectors ...


Are indicators enough? two strategic and institutional sectors ... - official statistics - education and university system




ISTAT

“institute” (with a President) not a “office” (with a Director)




Necessity to create training opportunities in the new BES perspective to young statisticians and not only


The master QoLexity


The master QoLexity

Second level master: After bachelor’s degree (3-year degree) + master degree (2-year degree)


The master QoLexity

Second level master:

“QoLexity” is a neologism

After

coined at the first international workshop of the Italian Association for Quality-of-Life Studies (AIQUAV)

bachelor’s degree (3-year degree) + master degree (2-year degree)

held in Florence in September 2011


The master QoLexity

60 credits:


The master QoLexity

60

A. Concepts and tools Total: 7 credits – 42 hours o Towards a common language: general concepts and their meanings o Quality of life and related concepts B. Data Total: 12 credits – 72 hours o Quality-of-Life data o Data collection: C. Analytical approaches Total 15 credits – 90 hours from reality to reading the reality credits: oo Indicators: Indicators: analytical tools and strategies o Quality-of-life data analysis: pathways to modelling o Quality-of-life data analysis: looking for explanations o Making all concrete D. Representing and communicating Total 8 credits – 48 hours o Representing quality-of-life data and results o Communicating quality-of-life results o Putting all together


The scientific debate?



Future perspectives

fair and sustainable wellbeing (a) Defining sustainability concept (vulnerability: risks and resilience) (b) Fixing the sustainability monitoring approach (new indicators or ad-hoc analytical approaches) (c) Proposing a new Law at national Parliament on the use of BES at national government level (d) Supporting and coordinating local initiatives (small municipalities, rural areas, etc.) (e) Constructing synthesis of indicators (for each domains and different concepts) (f) Identifying new data sources allowing the system to monitor citizens’ wellbeing big data


Final remarks


In order to a. develop a multidimensional approach to measure country’s wellbeing b. increment the use of indicators in the political decision process c. assess a policy evaluation instrument

a participative approach is needed.


Crucial role: - ISTAT – as an independent institution – and official statistics - Academic research and networks - Education (literacy of the actors in statistics)


… and this is not an hypothesis …


… and this is not an hypothesis … … is concrete experience …

Filomena Maggino [email protected]