About the Happiness Pulse survey

The Happiness Pulse measures the detailed reality of individual wellbeing. It gets to the heart of the how people feel and function in their lives, work and communities.

Centre for Thriving Places designed the Happiness Pulse in 2014 in partnership with the New Economics Foundation and a global advisory board, with national representatives from the ONS UK National Well-being Programme, University of Cambridge Wellbeing Institute, Public Health England (PHE), Department of Communities and Local Government (now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) and the United National Development Programme (UNDP).

Why not take the survey for yourself?

The best way to get a sense of how it is to take the survey as a respondent is by taking it yourself. It gives you instant results which will help you to understand your own wellbeing.

Alternatively you can view a full list of questions and answer scales here.

Try out the survey Try an Advanced account demo

About Centre for Thriving Places (the new name for Happy City)

Centre for Thriving Places was founded in 2010, with the aim to change the economic compass from pointing to consumption and growth toward wellbeing for people, place and planet. We bring this vision to life through place-based strategic consulting, training and our evidence-based measurement tools the Thriving Places Index and Happiness Pulse. We work with local authorities, organisations and individuals to provide practical pathways to measure, understand and improve wellbeing.

The Happiness Pulse uses a set of core wellbeing measures, set within four survey modules – General Wellbeing and:

BE

Mental and emotional wellbeing – how people think and feel about their lives*

DO

Behavioural wellbeing – how people think, what they do that supports better lives.

CONNECT

Social wellbeing – how people connect with others.

*The BE domain comprises questions from the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). The Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale was developed with funding provided by the Scottish Government’s National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-being. It was commissioned by NHS Health Scotland, developed by the University of Warwick and the University of Edinburgh in 2006, and is jointly owned by NHS Health Scotland, the University of Warwick and the University of Edinburgh.

Together these elements help paint a detailed picture of how people are feeling and functioning.

This information can then be used to drive better decision making at an individual, project, organisation or community scale.

Happiness Pulse data can be fed back at many levels – from individual to whole communities- allowing all stakeholders to better understand and act to increase wellbeing. Off the shelf or bespoke survey modules can be added to the four core modules to explore issues relevant to a particular organisation, sector or local area.

Individual

Engages, informs and provides direct feedback enabling each user to assess and improve their own lives in simple, low-cost ways.

Community

Organisations and groups of every size and from every sector can use the Pulse to map wellbeing strengths and needs and demonstrate their social impact.