Today is Budget Day, and as the Chancellor addresses Parliament and holds his red case aloft for the journalists, I’m left asking why we still live in a world where we consistently fail to make the economy deliver on what people really want and need. A brief glance at the... read more →
Nov
22
Nov
21
WellWorth was a prototype online tool developed in 2015-16, helping policy and decision makers evaluate wellbeing interventions. WellWorth was developed by Happy City in partnership with health economists at the University of Exeter’s European Centre for Environment and Human Health. The feasibility development of WellWorth was funded by Innovate UK... read more →
Nov
10
It’s that time of year. No, not that voracious US import Black Friday, bellowing at us to dive into a queue for a heavily discounted TV, phone, drone, pair of trainers – because if I don’t, someone else will get them! – and not Christmas either. No, the next BIG... read more →
Nov
05
Happy City’s Wellbeing Champions programme ran from 2016 to 2017, supporting over 20 champions. Happy City's Wellbeing Champions training was a comprehensive two-day programme, designed to equip participants with all they need to deliver Happy City’s Five Ways to Wellbeing training sessions to colleagues or local communities. The two days... read more →
Nov
03
For many years now I have been invited to 'smart city' meetings, conferences and events. We are told we all need to use 'open data' the 'internet of things' and 'smart city infrastructure' to solve everything from traffic jams to crime, poverty to climate change. It seems there must be a 'smart'... read more →
Oct
26
Museums are changing - and not just to keep up with the times. They're pace-setters. The Victorian government, which paved the way for museums to spring up all over the UK, was playing catch up with the economy. Ministers of the day were worried shift workers with previously undreamed of... read more →
Oct
26
The government’s new report shows the massive cost of ignoring mental health in the workplace. We need to act now – and Happy City is ready. Today the government published its Thriving at Work report, a major review of the impact of mental health on workplaces, workers and the national... read more →
Oct
25
I always remember an old campaigning friend of mine, Jose, being asked on live South African TV, ‘So, does your organisation want to break the economy then?’ The tricksy journalist intended to put him in a corner, but he simply shrugged and said, ‘The economy is already broken’. We can... read more →
Oct
22
Happy Lists were born out of a need to provide an antidote to the rich/celebrity lists which worship at the shrine of the wealthy, the bonus-getters, and the tax avoiders. In 2008 David Randall decided to create a national HappyList for the Independent on Sunday which would honour a different set of... read more →
Oct
10
Today is World Mental Health Day, a day of action and commitment and focus – towards promoting acceptance, diversity and empowerment, or redirecting resources or raising awareness. But working towards better mental health doesn’t need to be all big gestures and major action. We can engage in gentler, more personal... read more →