Conduct ongoing research on what actually makes citizens happy — and adjust systems based on proven patterns, not ideology or habit.
The following action steps are written in SMART Goal format. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Community members are encouraged to utilize this page to determine if their local community could benefit from implementing these action steps. Consider these as guidelines for further discussion in the direction of tax dollars to provide ideal environments for children and citizens. Take your community’s resources, economic and social strengths, and crime rates over the last 25-50 years into consideration.
Click the small triangle ▶ to see more details about an idea.
Action Steps at the Town Hall Level:
Establish A “Thriving Research Lab”
- Specific: Create a municipal research team to measure and analyze citizen well-being using surveys, behavioral data, and community feedback.
- Measurable: Survey 10% of the local population annually. Publish a yearly “Well-Being Report Card” with 10 or more metrics (such as life satisfaction, social connectedness, economic security).
- Achievable: Partner with local universities, statisticians, and NGOs for cost-effective data collection.
- Relevant: This research model directly ties policy to empirical happiness research. Furthermore, town hall policy makers would have access to data about the key areas in which citizens are thriving and which areas they need support.
- Time-Bound: Launch the first survey within 6 months and publish findings within 12 months.
Adopt A “Thriving-Informed” Budgeting Model
- Specific: Based on collected data, allocate municipal spending towards areas of greatest need/impact.
- Measurable: Shift 15% of discretionary spending to well-being projects within 3 years. Additionally, track citizen’s satisfaction with budget priorities annually.
- Achievable: Use tools like the WELLBY metric to compare projects.
- Relevant: Data-based budget allocation aligns with New Zealand’s “Well-Being Budget,” which was shown to be a success.
- Time-Bound: Draft a well-being budget framework within 9 months.
Create A Committee Dedicated To The Study And Implementation Of Thaler & Sunstein’s Nudge Theory
- Specific: Apply behavior science to design public systems that encourage healthier, happier choices.
- Measurable: Increase participation in happiness-boosting programs and reduce “loneliness index” scores by 10% in 2 years via social infrastructure nudges.
- Achievable: Allow the committee to determine the number of staff needed to be trained in Nudge Theory and pilot low-cost interventions.
- Relevant: The UK’s Behavioral Insights Team has applied and proven the Nudge Theory to work.
- Time-Bound: Test 5 nudges within 1 year and scale successful ones.
Optimize Urban Design For Joy
- Specific: Redesign public spaces using “happy city” principles (such as walk-ability, nature integration, etc.).
- Measurable: Boost park usage by 25% via Project for Public Spaces tactics.
- Achievable: Hire a place-making consultant and involve citizens in co-design.
- Relevant: Incorporating infrastructural designs proven by Jan Gehl’s Copenhagen transformations will reflect systemic changes in favor of citizen happiness.
- Time-Bound: Redesign one plaza/park within 1 year.
Action Steps at the School Level:
Offer Intro to Sociology, Psychology, and Anthropology Courses
- Specific: Sometime between 7th and 12th grade, students must complete and pass intro level (101) courses in Sociology, Psychology, and Anthropology. A culminating project highlighting the interconnectedness of the topics and how specific theories have appeared in their lives is recommended.
- Measurable: Monitor documented peer conflict and family interventions over the course of the next 2 years for a 5% or higher reduction.
- Achievable: Collaborate with universities to attain curriculum and outstanding candidates for lead teaching roles in each course.
- Relevant: Developing students’ base-level understanding and pattern recognition of human behavior will improve their ability to react to situations in ways that align with their safety and happiness.
- Time-Bound: Attain curriculum, lead teacher(s) for the courses, and communicate to families about the course requirements and credit attainment over the course of the last semester and adjacent summer of the school year. Launch the following school year.
Launch “Intro to Research & Evidence” Projects
- Specific: As students prepare to create capstone projects, this elective should be folded into their course load for at least one semester. By the end of the course, student will be able to identify key characteristics of published research papers, how and when to cite research, and share at least one experience of having a personal belief debunked by research.
- Measurable: 100% of capstone projects will have research citations in alignment with the methods taught in this introductory course.
- Achievable: Collaborate with local university professors, the schools’ English and History teachers, as well as the overseer of the students’ capstone projects to develop the curriculum for this half-semester course.
- Relevant: Students’ capstone projects often, if not always, involve outreach to their community. Developing students’ ability to interact with research papers and extract relevant information that they can incorporate into their projects is essential to ensuring their impact is aligned with best-practice and prepares them for their roles as future leaders.
- Time-Bound: Attain curriculum, lead teacher(s) for the courses, and communicate to families about the course requirements and credit attainment over the course of the last semester and adjacent summer of the school year. Launch the following school year.
Conduct Intergenerational Interviews
- Specific: Students conduct interviews with their family members or mentors to learn more about their lived experiences, how they’ve noticed their communities have changed (for better and for worse), and what differences they’d like to see or make in the next 10 years.
- Measurable: 100% of students will complete interviews in written or recorded format with a summary of their takeaways and inspirations from the interview.
- Achievable: Collaborate with the leads of the soft sciences departments to determine the best grade level and time in the school year for the project to fit.
- Relevant: Generations who hold decades of memories about their communities can provide valuable insight into the changes that have improved and degraded citizens’ quality of life.
- Time-Bound: Allow relevant team leads to identify the grade and course the project will be integrated into within one semester; launch the following school year.