Goal

Humans flourish with and through the world we live in. Today we are in the near terminal condition of an unhealthy relationship with biophysical systems of this planet. In parallel there are many international agreements (legal and non-legal) whose stated purpose is to support some aspects of human flourishing. These agreements tend to focus on basic material needs and miss important dimensions embedded in the lives of people in local communities, in the name of whom they were created, and by them considered vital for their flourishing. These dimensions include, for example, a close reciprocal relationship with nature or human virtues such as forgiveness, trustworthiness and justice. And these agreements have had only marginal impact on our unhealthy course – partly as a result of omitting the spiritual dimensions that help individuals and communities (self-)regulate and cooperate. This research line will link these currently impotent agreements to local communities in ways that recognize, celebrate, and strengthen their immediate contributions to securing the conditions necessary for their flourishing by developing better measures for what (brings) human flourishing (is) and translates these into practical tools, such as indicators, that society is used to.

Opportunity

There have been many efforts to create global and local indicators which describe the environmental, the cultural, and with far less success the spiritual dimensions which are necessary for human flourishing. Indicators selected for global agreements are biased towards what is easier to be measured and are poorly linked to the lives of local communities. Opportunity lies in recognizing that governance for human flourishing is rooted in strong communities. Research will involve communities in determining what matters, in monitoring what matters and in reporting in a manner that supports pursuit of whatever they deem to be necessary for their flourishing.

Roadblocks

A primary roadblock in indicators (and society) a preference for the material, the measurable, and the generalizable. What matters for flourishing is neither easy to measure nor is it easy for current science to recognize. What matters is often very local and the things that matter often change quickly over time. Standardized stable measurement of material things across many different sites is not well suited to ensuring that communities have what they need to flourish. What matters is the process is by which communities are engaged in securing the conditions of their own flourishing.

Breakthroughs Needed

There are a number of methods which have been found effective in helping groups of individuals to articulate what they value and how those things they value are important for their own flourishing, see e.g. Podger et al (2013) and Dacks et al (2019). There are global and particularly national systems for the recognition and enforcement of standards of conduct. There have also been many attempts to find ways through which local communities can engage in effectively governing their own circumstances and sharing those local efforts with regional national and global systems of governance. What is missing is careful testing of the ways through which what really matters for human flourishing locally can be identified in legitimate ways (avoiding biases of, for example, a vocal minority) and in turn influence we may articulate ever evolving locally relevant sources of value with both informal and inform and influence formal systems of government.

Key Indicators of Success

Year 3: if communities were research is carried are still welcoming us and if local/regional government institutions show interest.
Year 5 if research teams have shifted from leading to responding in our support for efforts to secure the conditions necessary for human flourishing.
Year 10 if: 1) involved local communities still use the indicator systems and that those systems have adapted over time; 2) others have independently created, not identical, but analogous systems within other communities; 3) global discussions of indicators of the conditions necessary for human flourishing demonstrate interest in articulation with and strengthening of local patterns of governance.

Additional Information

Potential collaborators
Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Peter Tamas, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Marie Harder, Fudan University, China & Brighton University, UK
Patricia Balvanera, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico
Arthur L. Dahl, International Environment Forum, Geneva.

References
Dacks et al (2019) https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.38
Jacobs et al (2019) http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/sus.2020.2
Podger et al (2013) https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wur.nl/10.1177/1476750312467833
Tebtebba Foundation (2008). https://ilcasia.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/indicators-resource-book1.pdf
Yap and Watene (2019) https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.38