Frequently Asked Questions
The Quality of Life Initiative aims to support policy makers to make people-centred decisions that lead to better quality of life in cities and towns and better development outcomes at a local, national and global scale.
The Quality of Life Initiative has carried out a wide ranging and ongoing consultative process to help define quality of life. It is recognized that there are different views on what comprises a good quality of life and that these depend on numerous variables including location, age, position in society and timeframe.
In general terms, the Initiative is looking at quality of life as an individually defined, geographically and culturally variable concept relating to one’s value systems, level of satisfaction and overall well-being.
At the centre of the Quality of Life Initiative will be a globally relevant, locally applicable measurement tool. This innovative tool will help local leaders to better understand the links between the decisions they make and the concrete outcomes on the quality of life of their constituents. The tool will integrate various indicators or metrics to produce a representative value regarding the quality of life in a specific context.
A far reaching knowledge ecosystem is being developed around the measurement tool through institutional engagement, capacity building and tailored knowledge production. This will provide the necessary support and guidance on using the tool across various geographical and cultural contexts.
Every day, local leaders face challenges on how to make cities better places to enjoy, live and work in. The Quality of Life Initiative is being shaped with city representatives and individuals working together to craft an innovative, human-centric measurement tool to benefit their community.
The Initiative goes beyond measurement, to support real-world decision making. Local leaders will be able to identify and zoom in on those issues that are most affecting their community wellbeing and design targeted interventions.
The Quality of Life Initiative aims to:
- Create a tool for local leaders to make informed decisions based on how they can improve the lives of their communities.
- Provide a more nuanced and holistic understanding of quality of life that responds to the needs of a rapidly changing world.
- Design an innovative measurement tool that can adapt to major challenges, such as pandemics, climate change, disruptive technologies, and more.
- Connect local goals with global objectives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to work together towards a better future.
The measurement tool is being designed to track changes in quality of life indicators at several levels: global, national, and local. As the scope becomes more specific, the tool will rely increasingly on the participation of local governments to provide up-to-date, relevant data for a specific context. This will result in a flexible measurement tool that can examine global trends while considering different realities on the ground.
The Quality of Life Initiative aims to:
- Create a tool for local leaders to make informed decisions based on how they can improve the lives of their communities.
- Provide a more nuanced and holistic understanding of quality of life that responds to the needs of a rapidly changing world.
- Design an Index that can adapt to major challenges, such as pandemics, climate change, disruptive technologies, and more.
- Connect local goals with global objectives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to work together towards a better future.
Objective measurements refer to concrete and quantifiable data, such as income, life expectancy, and educational level. Subjective measurements are based on an individual's personal assessment of a situation such as life satisfaction or perceived safety.
Relying solely on objective metrics fails to fully encompass the qualitative experiences of individuals. An innovative method is essential for a comprehensive measurement of quality of life.
The measurement tool or Index is being designed to track changes in quality of life indicators at several levels: global, national, and local. As the scope becomes more specific, the Index will rely increasingly on the participation of local governments to provide up-to-date, relevant data for a specific context. This will result in a flexible Index that can examine global trends while considering different realities on the ground.
When we make improvements in urban settings the benefits often extend beyond city limits. The measurement tool is adaptable and crafted to fit different neighbourhood contexts depending on the data available.
The QoL Initiative and measurement tool will derive strength and legitimacy by connecting with and building upon existing, established frameworks. The tool will strategically map on to UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Monitoring Framework (UMF), which recommends a set of indicators to measure the achievement of SDG 11 (safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities).
The tool will be a decision support tool, it is aligned with the UMF framework and acts like a bridge. Local areas like cities or neighbourhoods can use it to connect their individual improvements directly to the bigger picture – the global goals of the SDGs. So, every local effort can be seen and measured as part of the worldwide progress.
Both use the same basic 4X5 matrix of urban attributes -such as a safe society, or sustainable economy - but a different set of metrics for local, national, and global quality of life. If quality of life is the defining theme for a city or town's strategic goals, then the Initiative’s tool may be the most suitable for monitoring progress.
Often, people think these tools rank or compare different locations. However, it's not always fair to directly compare places with vastly different contexts. Norway, for example, may have little in common with Namibia when it comes to relevant quality of life metrics. A better option for these measurement tools is to use them to monitor the same place over time. This provides both citizens and local leaders with the ability to see 1) how they are progressing or regressing over time, and 2) based on this, identify priority areas for intervention.
The QoL Initiative and measurement tool or Index will derive strength and legitimacy by connecting with and building upon existing, established frameworks. The Index will strategically map on to UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Monitoring Framework (UMF), which recommends a set of indicators to measure the achievement of SDG 11 (safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities).
The Index will be a decision support tool, it is aligned with the UMF framework and acts like a bridge. Local areas like cities or neighbourhoods can use it to connect their individual improvements directly to the bigger picture – the global goals of the SDGs. So, every local effort can be seen and measured as part of the worldwide progress.
Both use the same basic 4X5 matrix of urban attributes -such as a safe society, or sustainable economy - but a different set of metrics for local, national, and global quality of life. If quality of life is the defining theme for a city or town's strategic goals, then the Initiative’s tool may be the most suitable for monitoring progress.
Often, people think of indices as tools to rank or compare different locations. However, it's not always fair to directly compare places with vastly different contexts. Norway, for example, may have little in common with Namibia when it comes to relevant quality of life metrics. A better option for indices is to use them to monitor the same place over time. This provides both citizens and local leaders with the ability to see 1) how they are progressing or regressing over time, and 2) based on this, identify priority areas for intervention.