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Designing Policies for a Wellbeing Economy arrow Strategy arrow Managing trade-offs & power dynamics

Managing trade-offs & power dynamics

Who holds the power in the current system and what stands in the way? How will you handle trade-offs between wellbeing priorities and how can you enable a just transition for those who will lose out?
purpose

Purpose

Manage trade-offs and power dynamics to develop effective strategies to foster Wellbeing Economic activities and behaviours

As you develop your wellbeing economy strategy, you will likely find that in order for certain activities and behaviours to flourish, others will need to decline. Managing these trade-offs in a strategic and democratic manner will be vital to ensure a just transition to a Wellbeing Economy. Over time, your wellbeing measurements and assessments can help you better understand interrelationships between these various dimensions.

However, while quantitative data is certainly helpful for understanding complex systems, conceptual understandings of system and power dynamics are vital as they influence the strategies and narratives that underpin change. Engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including experts, policy makers, civil society groups, and citizens will be critical to ensure that all actors in society understand and appreciate these interconnections and why particular shifts are necessary to improve collective wellbeing, now and for generations to come.

Resources

To find the resources from all of these chapters, please visit the tools and resources page

Trade-offs & Tensions between Wellbeing Economy Policies

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Back-casting

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Affinity diagrams

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Political economy analysis & power analysis

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Social dialogue and tripartism

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Scenario planning

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Stakeholder analysis

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Consensus conference

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Wisdom council

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Examples

Kenya—Decentralising Policy Implementation

In 2010, Kenya adopted a new constitution, which prioritised the principles of participation, accountability, and transparency. On the basis of these principles, the Government of Kenya embarked on a bold process of decentralisation.

Kenya embarked on a process of decentralisation based on its new constitution which prioritised participation, accountability, and transparency. The government conducted multi-stakeholder discussions with support from international organisations and local governments worked to support local citizen priorities.

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Albany 2030

The city of Albany, New York, USA outlined its 2030 vision to become a model for sustainable urban revitalisation and livability. The plan used a systemic approach which considered the interconnections between the plan's components to create synergies.

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New Zealand—Just Transitions Unit

The New Zealand government set up the Just Transitions Unit to support the transition to a low emissions economy that is "fair, equitable, and inclusive". The unit supports new jobs, skills, and opportunities for the transition and ensures choices are made in a just and inclusive way so that no one is left behind.

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Tips

  • Begin with your Wellbeing Vision and have communities discuss how they see social, environmental, economic and political dimensions of wellbeing interrelating with one another.
  • Consider long-term wellbeing and which actions today can improve collective wellbeing in the future.
  • Explore wellbeing outcomes and goals and use systems thinking tools to consider how improvements in one area will positively or negatively impact other areas.
  • Have open and honest discussions regarding trade-offs and use participatory approaches to find the best ways to manage them.
  • Openly discuss power-relationships and conduct power mappings to identify potential barriers to building a wellbeing economy.
  • Use communication and public awareness campaigns to foster necessary buy-in for shifting power dynamics in society.
  • Empower the most marginalised in society to outline the most important changes needed for their wellbeing.
  • Use scenario planning to consider how different changes in one wellbeing area could have positive or negative impacts on others.
  • Develop a causal logic, which outlines the activities, behaviours, and institutions that need to be fostered as well as those that will need to be discouraged, to build a Wellbeing Economy.
  • Create pictures, infographics and simple narratives to explain this causal logic and why particular interventions in the economy are viewed as necessary to achieving wellbeing goals.