From Individual Wellbeing to Regional Priorities: concepts and measures to assist policy makers

Abstract

The understanding of subjective perceptions of wellbeing, that is, the perceived needs and current levels of satisfactions of people, could provide valuable information for policy and decision makers. It would allow for the mapping of the envisaged impacts of policy against things that people value and care about, thus providing information about the positive and negative potential of different policy options to impact upon human welfare.

In this book, Dr Silva Larson takes us on a journey of explorations into the things that are important to people. She argues that an approach which takes into account both what people value most and how satisfied they are with the current state of affairs would assist decision makers with identifying perceived regional priorities. Further, she proposes and describes one such approach, that of using a quantitative composite value that combines both types of information, and demonstrates, using two shires in the Great Barrier Reef region of Australia as examples, how this can be done. The resulting “action lists” identify and quantify the unsatisfied needs of most importance to most people in the region, that is, factors that have high potential to improve the quality of life of residents, if restored.