The Center for Sustainable Development supports three primary research and policy projects on happiness and well-being. The World Happiness Report is a landmark, annual survey and analysis of the state of global happiness. The Global Happiness Council is a global network of academic specialists in happiness and key practitioners that identifies best practices at national and local levels to advance happiness and well-being. The Science and Ethics for Happiness and Well-being Initiative is a series of meetings in the coming two years to explore the intersection of scientific findings, philosophical wisdom, and the Church's teachings on happiness and well-being.
The World Happiness Report (WHR)
The World Happiness Report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. The World Happiness Report is written by a group of independent experts acting in their personal capacities. The report is led by senior editors John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, and Jeffrey D. Sachs, along with associate editors, Alejandro Adler, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Haifang Huang, Shun Wang, and Lara B. Aknin.
The ranking report is produced annually along with five to six additional chapters written by the editors and select experts. Each year the report focuses on a specific theme relating to happiness and well-being. Views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization, agency or programme of the United Nations.
The Global Council for Happiness and Well-being
The Global Council for Happiness and Well-being is a new global network of leading academic specialists in happiness and key practitioners in areas ranging from psychology, economics, urban planning, civil society, business and government. The GHC identifies best practices at the national and local levels to encourage advancement of the causes of happiness and well-being.
Council members oversee the work of six thematic groups (education, workplace, personal happiness, public health, city design and management) who each produce a chapter of policy recommendations in the Global Happiness and Well-being Policy Report, published annually and presented at the World Government Summit (WGS) in support the Global Dialogue for Happiness. The reports provide evidence and policy advice to participating governments on best practices to promote happiness and well-being.
The work of the Council is complementary to the World Happiness Reports and other research on the measurement and explanation of happiness. The aim of the Council is to survey and share best practice policies drawn from the research literature and government experiences around the globe.
The Science and Ethics for Happiness and Well-being Initiative (SEH)
The Science and Ethics for Happiness and Well-being Initiative is a series of meetings in the coming two years to explore Faith, Science, and Ethics for Happiness, Well-being and Sustainable Development (or, in short, Science and Ethics for Happiness and Well-being, or SEH). The objective is an actionable synthesis based on recent scientific findings, philosophical wisdom, and the Church’s teachings. Sessions will cover topics such as the philosophical and theological understandings and underpinnings of happiness, the cardinal virtues and happiness, the natural science of happiness, the sociology of happiness, the politics of well-being, the causes and cures of modern addictions, the global epidemiology of mood and anxiety disorders, the emerging neuroscience of happiness, well-being education and the happiness of the young, digital technologies and well-being, and global economics, sustainable development, and happiness. The “Leveraging the Synergies of Faith, Ethics, and Science for Happiness, Well-being and Sustainable Development” Initiative will build upon and augment the happiness programs now underway, including the World Happiness Report. It will also draw upon the findings of the Ethics in Action program.
