The 'Make Seattle Happy Report' outlines three policy recommendations to promote happiness at community and national levels, including a Gross National Happiness (GNH) policy screening tool, a happiness policy library, and a GNH index refinement process. The GNH policy screening tool evaluates policies based on their societal impacts, with specific scoring criteria. Additionally, the report encourages the collection and sharing of successful happiness policies and practices to foster community engagement and well-being.

1. Make Seattle Happy Report:
A Blueprint for Raising
Awareness in Your Community
about the importance of happiness as a guide
for the future of our nation, neighborhoods
and personal life
PART THREE: POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

2. Part Three:
Policy Recommendations
Three recommendation emerging from the
Raising Awareness - Make Seattle
Happy Project

3. Policy Recommendations
1) Gross National Happiness Policy Screening
Tool, including research and grassroots
application
2) A Happiness Policy Library to inspire and aid
progress by policy makers and the
community members
3) Crucible for the Gross National Happiness
Index and its uses: a litmus test to refine
and develop the GNH Index

4. Gross National Happiness Project and Policy
Screening Tool
With the support of the government of Bhutan, we
drafted a policy screening tool based on the ones
Bhutan is using.
How it works:
A project of policy is rated on a scale of 1-4 for the
screening factors relevant to that policy or policy
A positive score is 4X the number of screening questions
A neutral score is 3X the number of screening questions
If a policy is positive or neutral, it is recommended to the
decision makers

5. Gross National Happiness Project and Policy
Screening Tool
Who uses the tool? A committee, group or selection of
individuals who are:
qualified to evaluate the project or policy and its impacts
knowledgeable about the subject matter and
circumstances of a project or policy
respected by the community
neutral to the outcome

6. Example
The Policy under consideration is
Inclusionary Zoning Laws, and the
policy is examined against four
screening questions: Economic
Security, Community Integrity,
Inclusion and Discrimination, and
Compassion, Generosity and
Gratitude.
A positive score is 4 X the number
of screening questions, in this
example 16.
A neutral score is 3 X the number
of screening questions, in this
example 12.
The policy must have a score of at
least 12 to be accepted. Here it has
a score of 14.

7. Material Well-being

8. Governance

9. Environment

10. Community

11. Social Support

12. Education, Learning, Arts & Culture

13. Physical Health

14. Psychological Health

15. Time Balance

16. Work

17. The Gross National Happiness
Policy and Project Screening tool
is available online in a word
document
visit happycounts.org/raiseawarenessreport
please give attribution to The Happiness Initiative/Happy Counts.

18. A Happiness Policy Library
We recommend the development of a library of
policies relevant to the domains of happiness to
inspire and aid progress.
These include policies and practices that cities,
community members and other agents have
implemented to improve one or more domains of
happiness.

19. A Happiness Policy Library
Example Policies
Community Vitality
Parking Day (or Parking Summer)
Traffic Calming Zones
Neighborhood Clean-Up Days
Annual Street Block Potlucks
Environment
Fix it First Policies
Community Gardens
Water Quality Protection
Time Balance
Vacation/Sick Leave Ordinance
Mixed-Use Neighborhoods
Workplace
Office Park Reintegration
Education and Learning
Walking School Bus
Early Education Urban Planning Games
Planning for Smarter Growth
Cultural Vitality
Urban Structure Design Criteria and Codes
Art Hubs
Health
Activities and Policies
Walking Promotion by Community Groups
Games In the Park
Material Well-Being
Inclusionary Zoning Law

20. A Happiness Policy and Action
Library in progress is available
online
visit happycounts.org/happypolicy
We are collecting policies and actions.
Please send suggestions to info@happycounts.org

21. Crucible
We recommend a crucible – a litmus test to
refine and develop the GNH Index.
We recommend two phases:
Crucible I: Use the Gross National Happiness Index in two areas in
order to gauge the happiness and wellbeing of an area that has
implemented a policy or action compared to an area that has not.
Crucible II: Use the Gross National Happiness Index in one area
before and after implementing a policy or action to gauge the
impact on people’s happiness and wellbeing.
Learning from the crucible will be used to refine and
develop the Gross National Happiness Index and its use.

22. Make Seattle Happy: A Blueprint for Raising
Awareness in Your Community.
Please use these materials to raise awareness about the
importance of happiness and well-being, the happiness
movement and the aim of a new economic paradigm.
These materials may be used or reproduced for any non-
commercial use. For more information, inquiries or
comments, please email info@happycounts.org or visit
happycounts.org
Report compiled by: Laura Musikanski, JD, MBA
Editing team: Eldan Goldenberg, James Bradbury
Copyright © The Happiness Initiative 2013