Measure What Matters: Pathways to Sustainable Well-Being Conference May 29, 2012

Measuring What Matters in Vermont takes place on Wednesday May 30th from 9 – 4 p.m. at UVM’s Davis Center in Burlington. The conference is presented by The Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, Gross National Happiness USA, and Common Good Vermont—partners in improving the sustainable well-being of Vermonters.

Who’s Invited?
This one-day conference is for citizens working for social change, government officials aiming to improve public policy, nonprofit leaders seeking to make the state a better place, researchers wanting to answer vexing social questions and funders looking for a meaningful return on their investments. We seek the broadest participation and collaboration possible.

What’s the Agenda?
Plenary sessions will highlight the international and state-level work being done to improve and track our well-being with reports from the United Nations, the State of Vermont and innovative nonprofit partnerships. Collaborative working sessions, guided by case studies and structured exercise will inspire participants to think differently about the work they do and how they measure their impact. The Conference will establish a context for the work, including explanation of three current approaches for demonstrating well-being: the Genuine Progress Indicator set, the Gross National Happiness indicator set, and the methods and tools of Results Based Accountability.

Vermonters deserve a sturdy economy, a healthy environment, and vital communities. All three are necessary to attain the maximum level of sustainable well-being for us all. But we can’t get there without a blue-print. Momentum is building for a way forward. The Vermont State Legislature recently passed a new bill calling for new indicators to measure the delivered well-being of Vermonters. With the Vermont Genuine Progress Indicator, we have the opportunity to map new “dashboard” of indicators that tracks sustainable well-being–one that is widely accepted by policy makers and the public. Measuring What Matters in Vermont: Pathways to Sustainable Well-Being is an important statewide conference that moves us in this direction.

NPVT