The Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership

👉🏽 This story is developed as part of the Doughnut Economics for Policymakers guide.

The Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) initiative brings together senior government officials from around the world to shift policymaking beyond narrow economic growth and towards the wellbeing of people and the planet. By sharing expertise and learnings, WEGo officials support each other to develop and implement wellbeing economy approaches and policies.

Overview  

Supported by the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll), the governments of Scotland, Iceland and New Zealand jointly launched the WEGo group at the 2018 OECD World Forum in South Korea. The group now operates independently, with the Scottish Government providing the Secretariat within the office of the Chief Economic Advisor. 

Current members include senior government officials from Scotland, Iceland, New Zealand, Wales and Finland, with Canada actively participating and others joining meetings as observers.

The network aims to:

• Collaborate by sharing expertise, practice and learning on integrating wellbeing evidence into policy processes and advice;
• Embed a wellbeing economy approach by demonstrating how robust evidence supports policy, ensuring long-term, mainstreamed action that resonates across the political spectrum; and
• Identify shared challenges while recognising different contexts, driving improved policy advice and sustainable societal outcomes.

Implementation

Members share experiences through economic policy labs. This format facilitates practical exchange on specific policy areas of shared interest, in the pursuit of enhanced wellbeing for current and future generations.

The group held their first economic policy lab in Edinburgh in May 2019, where civil society representatives were also engaged in the opening session. Since then, regular virtual policy labs and webinars with guest speakers have been held, and an in-person event in November 2022 included participation from Scotland, Iceland, New Zealand, Wales, Finland and Canada.

Policy lab topics have included wellbeing measurement frameworks, wellbeing budgeting, sustainable tourism and natural capital, child poverty, and the many challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. 

Impacts

Since 2024, WEGo has been an official partner of the Wellbeing Economy Forum in Iceland, 

a global platform for dialogue and collaboration among politicians, policymakers, business leaders, academics and practitioners, in support of the move towards a wellbeing economy. 

Initiatives by WEGo countries have inspired other governments to adopt similar approaches, including the implementation of beyond-GDP frameworks, New Zealand's Wellbeing Budget, the Universal Basic Income pilot in Finland, and the Wales Well-being of Future Generations Act.

The 2024 documentary Purpose documents the journey of Katherine Trebeck and Lorenzo Fioramonti, and explores how they laid the conceptual and organisational foundations for WEGo. Its worldwide screenings since release have inspired people and other governments to take action. 

Challenges

• The transition towards wellbeing economies has no ready-made universal solutions, and requires both experimentation and learning. The learning approach adopted by WEGo governments involves trial and error, which can attract public criticism and impatience with the speed of progress. 
• Government changes require officials to adapt approaches within political constraints and seek consensus across the political spectrum. Practical progress may seem removed from ideological ambitions, requiring persistent behind-the-scenes work that can be hard to communicate publicly.

References and further reading

• Wellbeing Economy Governments on the Wellbeing Economy Alliance website, including case studies for each of the countries participating in WEGo.
• The Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) page on the website of the Scottish Government, which holds the WEGo secretariat.

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