I had a conversation with a friend recently and asked her, “Are you thriving?” Her gut reaction was “Yes! Of course I’m thriving!” Honestly, she was a little offended by the question.
Yet, a few days later she confessed to me that the question hit her like a train, because no, upon reflection, she did not feel she was thriving.
What happened to change her mind? How do we actually measure our wellbeing? How can we tell if we’re thriving? And what does thriving look like for people who live in the littlest places in Ontario?
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing
The Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) was developed as a social measure of quality of life in Canada, in response to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which focuses on financial aspects. Researchers have identified eight dimensions of social life that contribute to wellbeing in communities of all sizes. Whether your community unit is you or your family, a village or a metropolis, a country or the world, data tells us that all eight of these dimensions impact how “well” we feel.
Measurements like this might be applied to our province, or our cities, or perhaps our country, but they apply to little places also, places too small to measure, with heavy social burdens and too few resources.
If you live in an urban area, these might be a neighbourhood, or perhaps the small communities you pass by on the highway when you travel, or the places you vacation in.
We are more than the sum of our bank account: Measuring what matters
The CIW is like a lighthouse on the shore. It serves as a framework from which to develop new community level infrastructure that puts people at the centre of policy, while at the same time helping smaller groups and individuals recalibrate our own personal actions towards an evidenced based “good” standard.
I also like that even if you can’t afford to work with the CIW to undertake a community assessment, there is still plenty of open-source information about the Index to improve decisions big and small. The CIWs eight dimensions include: Health, Leisure & Culture, Community Vitality, Time Use, Living Standards, Environment, Education, and Civic Engagement. What do they mean?
Community Vitality measures the strength of relationships within communities and the level of civic engagement. It looks at aspects like volunteerism, social networks, community trust, and social cohesion.
Democratic Engagement focuses on citizen involvement in political and public life. It includes participation in elections, political involvement, advocacy, and the overall trust in government and public institutions.
Education tracks the accessibility and quality of formal education and lifelong learning opportunities, literacy levels, and the extent to which individuals can improve their knowledge and skills.
Environment considers the state of the natural environment and how it supports well-being. Key aspects include clean air and water, the quality of land, biodiversity, and efforts towards sustainability and conservation.
Healthy Populations examines physical and mental health, including factors like life expectancy, rates of chronic illness, mental health, access to healthcare, and health behaviours such as exercise and diet.
Living Standards measures the economic conditions that influence individual well-being such as income, wealth distribution, employment opportunities, housing quality, and access to basic services like food and clean water.
Leisure and Culture explores recreational, cultural, and artistic opportunities, emphasizing the importance of free time, participation in sports and the arts, and how cultural expression enriches lives.
Time Use tracks how individuals spend their time in various activities and balance competing interests and demands, such as work, leisure, and care giving.
Why does wellbeing matter in rural places?
Many communities experience struggling ecosystems, and the struggle is especially real in rural and remote rural places that contend with big challenges like declining and seasonal populations, out-migration of youth, housing shortages and so on.
Rural business folks, entrepreneurs and tourism operators want to start the day ready to shine and showcase their finest offerings just like everyone else. But it’s hard to show up as your best self when one or more of these social dimensions is out of alignment because they are all inter-related.
When wellbeing is out of alignment it translates into missed opportunities for both locals and visitors who decide whether to leave a Google review that rates their visit to your little place as a grand experience, a mediocre experience, or a conclusion never return.
Let's figure out what the CIW's eight dimensions are and ways to use the CIW in rural places to target optimal results.
Until next time
Angela Pollak
Chair of the South Algonquin Business Alliance
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