IAOS-OECD 2018 conference, 19-21 September 2018, Paris. More information at: http://www.oecd.org/iaos2018/

1. How Welsh Statisticians are helping
to measure the progress of a nation
Sue Leake, Welsh Government
16th Conference of IAOS, Paris
19-21 September 2018
Session 5.B. Country experiences of
measuring well-being

2. Where is Wales and what do we know about it?
Wales
• 3 million people
• 10 million sheep

4. • Statisticians role in ground-breaking legislation, Well-
being of Future Generations Act 2015
• Commitment to measure the progress of Wales towards
seven Well-being Goals
• Development of National Indicators for Wales and
milestones
• Annual Well-being of Wales report
• Future Trends report
• Relationship with UN Sustainable Development Goals

5. • History of adopting sustainable development
principles in Wales
– 1998, one of first countries in World to make
sustainable development a legal obligation
– 2012 Sustainable Development White paper
– 2014, National conversation about “The Wales We
Want by 2050” – think differently, act collectively,
shared goals
– Well-being of Future Generations Act, 2015

6. Long term
Prevention
Integration
Collaboration
Involvement

7. Goal Description of the goal
A prosperous Wales
An innovative, productive and low carbon society which recognises the limits of the global environment and
therefore uses resources efficiently and proportionately (including acting on climate change); and which
develops a skilled and well-educated population in an economy which generates wealth and provides
employment opportunities, allowing people to take advantage of the wealth generated through securing
decent work.
A resilient Wales
A nation which maintains and enhances a biodiverse natural environment with healthy functioning
ecosystems that support social, economic and ecological resilience and the capacity to adapt to change
(for example climate change).
A healthier Wales
A society in which people's physical and mental well-being is maximised and in which choices and
behaviours that benefit future health are understood.
A more equal Wales
A society that enables people to fulfil their potential no matter what their background or circumstances
(including their socio economic background and circumstances).
A Wales of cohesive
communities
Attractive, viable, safe and well-connected communities.
A Wales of vibrant culture and
thriving Welsh language
A society that promotes and protects culture, heritage and the Welsh language, and which encourages
people to participate in the arts, and sports and recreation.
A globally responsible Wales
A globally responsible Wales. A nation which, when doing anything to improve the economic, social,
environmental and cultural well-being of Wales, takes account of whether doing such a thing may make a
positive contribution to global well-being.
Well-being Goals

9. Discussion paper
Deciding on the best national indicators
1. Should measure outcomes for Wales (NOT performance)
2. Limited number of indicators
3. Should be coherent and fit together.
4. The indicators should resonate the public
5. Where significant progress can be achieved over the long term
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Other challenges:
• Subjective vs Objective
• Integration
• Involvement and collaboration

10. How do you measure a nation’s progress?
Proposals for the national indicators to measure whether
Wales is achieving the seven well-being goals in the Well-being
of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

12. National Indicators for Wales (contd.)

13. How did we present the outputs:
Well-being of Wales Report
• Sept 2017: first ever annual Well-being of Wales report published
• Insight into the state of the nation’s well-being and recent trends
• A report that tells a story
• Key messages could be found in a Slideshare and the full report.
• Narrative on our progress against each of the seven well-being goals;
rounded view of issues
• Reported on National indicators but also other relevant data
• StatsWales data and Power BI reports, Open Data format
• interactive tool allowing the user to filter the national indicators according to
the Well-being goals that they most relate to – but also the 17 UN
Sustainable Development Goals

19. Future plans and challenges
• Continuing to support interpretation of the data
• Keeping an annual report fresh
• When will long term change be recognised
• Leave no-one behind - developing better data on
population groups
• Supplementary Reports ( e.g. Children’s well-being 2018)
• Understanding the user journey
• Measuring a “Globally Responsible Wales”