The Happiness Alliance calls for the appointment of Officer or Ministers of Happiness and the formation of a happiness commission or office for all local, regional and national governments, as now exists in Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates and the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. See more at http://www.happycounts.org/call-for-happiness-officer-or-minister.html

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The Happiness Alliance call for all towns, cities, counties, states and
nations to appoint a Happiness Officer or Minister
The Happiness Alliance calls for the appointment of Officer or Ministers of Happiness
and the formation of a happiness commission or office for all local, regional and national
governments, as now exists in Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates and the state of Madhya
Pradesh in India.
The ultimate duties of the happiness office are to work with each aspect of government to
facilitate the understanding and use of happiness as the ultimate goal of government, with
the understanding that the term happiness encompasses the concepts of thriving, wellbeing,
quality of life, resilience, and sustainability.
We believe that the primary purpose of government is to secure the happiness of its
people. The evidence is clear that we can no longer rely on the assumption that ever-
increasing economic growth and consumption will lead to greater happiness for a town,
city, region or nation’s people. It is time to realize that wealth and income are inadequate
measures of success and well‐being.
Suggestions for a Happiness Officer or Minister Seat:
The Happiness Minister’s office and staff should sit within a government in such a way that
it can work with every department or function of government. In some cases, such as in
Bhutan, the Happiness office seat is primarily that of coordinator and facilitator for
dissemination of information and knowledge and cooperation between the various
governmental functions. In other governments, such as in United Arab Emirates,
Happiness office sits within a high level of government, such as the President or Prime
Minister, Governor or Commissioner, Mayor or Superintendent. It should not be a
separate department, nor should it be an administrative agency. In all cases, the
recommendation is that the Happiness office's function is not to promulgate departmental
policy or oversee departmental programs as a separate branch of government, but to work
towards the goal of integrating happiness across governmental departments.
Suggestions for functions of a Happiness Minister or Officer:
As a function of the top executive level of government, the happiness minister and its
officials should work with all the departments to integrate happiness into every aspect of
government. This includes cooperating with various government offices in the functions of
planning, policy and program promulgation and management, implementation and use of
metrics to measure performance, policy screening tools, and overall governmental
performance reporting.
We recommend that, over time, the Happiness Minister or Officer should have a staff of
people proficient and experienced in each department of government to work as emissaries
between the happiness office and each governmental department to fully integrate
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happiness into the functioning of government or work with designated people within each
department to pursue this goal. The designated happiness liaisons should work within each
department to educate and train civil servants to fully integrate happiness into all aspects of
government so that eventually the happiness office staff people’s role is simply to
coordinate and facilitate between or within a department, and securing people's pursuit of
happiness is a natural way of governing.
Suggested Areas and Approaches:
Ultimately, a comprehensive approach is necessary to make a significant and lasting
difference, but it is important that each government take the approach that best suits its
conditions and circumstances, so that people in government feel encouraged and enabled
in their efforts.
Suggested approaches and areas to address are:
• Work with top level officials to issue a happiness proclamation followed by a
happiness resolution stating intent, goals and methods.
• Educate and inform government leaders about the role of happiness in government
through various methods, from training sessions, online modules, and informative
presentations to conferences and summits, as well as modules and methods for civil
servants in each department to understand how to use happiness and wellbeing to
guide policy.
• Educate the general population about the relevance of happiness to governmental
process and policy, and the impacts on individuals, ensuring a nation’s people that
the government’s role is not to prescribe or force actions for personal happiness,
but are to secure the conditions for personal choices and actions for happiness.
• Educate the private sector and NGOS and work with the private sector and NGOs
towards cooperation and development of a happy and sustainable nation with high
quality of life for all.
• Reach out to the international community to create pathways for learning, sharing
and communication between governments, NGOs and the private sector.
• Work with governmental functions that provide services to the public to find ways
to improve the happiness and wellbeing of those served through such means as
process reformation, intergovernmental function cooperation, goal setting and exit
surveys for people served; and work with high level officials across departments
providing services to the public to facilitate cooperation and process reformation
that increases public happiness, well-being, quality of life, resilience, thriving and
sustainability.
• Conduct regular annual measurements of the happiness and wellbeing of a nation
using survey based and objective indicator instruments, analyze the data and
provide reports to each department and the public with trends, policy and program
recommendations, and recommendations for individual actions for happiness.
• Develop policy and program happiness screening tools for the government overall
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and for each department and work with each department to implement and use
them; as well as provide quarterly and annual reporting on policy and program
outcomes, including the screening process, and if a policy or program is passed,
reporting on the outcomes and impacts on happiness.
See http://www.happycounts.org/call-for-happiness-officer-or-minister.html for tools and
resources to aid governments in appointing happiness ministers or officers.
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