Measuring our nation's wellbeing: It's got to be all about the storytelling and genuine co-design.

The launch of Federal Government living Measuring what matters Wellbeing Framework yesterday is a great step in the right direction to ensure community is at the centre and pulled together by a great mix of Social Scientists and SMEs. With five themes, it recognises the fundamental nature of our interconnected systems.

Timely, as I drink my morning coffee to read Nikki Hutley's article in the Saturday Paper. Hutley, office holder at the Economic Society, speaks about her penny drop moment 'economists can't talk like the numbers don't have faces on them'. Her sentiment echoes Jim Chalmers value-based capitalism op-ed in the Monthly on my birthday, earlier this year. And (as I thoroughly appreciate the quiet of being able to read the paper cover to cover while Minecraft pumps away in the background;) the theme of equilibrium comes up yet again. This time in recognition that large non-profits partnership with industry cannot be to the detriment of natural systems and place-led values.

For me, this is where nation shaping opportunities like Voice to Parliament are critical. It is under-pinned by the above five themes and at their core, economic agency and self-determined outcomes. Resisting the temptation to start sketching out the details ensures space for foundation setting, community capacity and Country-led design. Partnering with First Nations leaders and learning from their traditional knowledge systems creates an opportunity to become an infinitely more creative and resilient Australia. The recurrent theme again being interconnected, interdependent systems.

Understanding that Country already guides the circular layers of living culture and thriving economies; to social cohesion and planetary health, is key to really grabbing this framework and tapping our collective wellbeing potential in industry, government and community.

Allow me to reminisce... Roughly twenty-two years ago in London, I had my thunder strike moment, witnessing the superpower of volunteerism and supporting people in their areas of passion. The job ad said, 'moribund drug addled' bar, the owners keen to pull dollars from the next borough. I saw it as a way to extend the safe borders for the LGBTQI community, extending from thriving Camden up into (then) sketchy Archway. By putting forward a vision based on collective benefit, the right skill sets and partners really did come out of the woodwork. Put simply, the pub venture would have failed if I had treated it like a satellite instead of a vehicle to generate social value in place. PSA - there were A LOT of velvet surfaces and lampshades.

We have learnt through the experiments of corporate social responsibility strategies around the world that if they are a side hustle to the core business, they will lack integrity. The same is true for measurement and accountability. Economic proxies are important but there is no substitute for storytelling. And you know, it's encouraging to see that the 'Measuring what matters' framework, with fifty indicators recognises this complexity. After all, many a social and economic policy has brought more harm to intended recipients than benefits because the focus was on doing things for community, rather than with them.

Rather than shunting the planetary and social goods off into a corner of the org structure, the wellbeing framework encourages inter-dependant systems. And as our sectors mature, moving from exceptionalism into normalism. And I am all for it.

This renewed focus on social equity is a ideal platform to have a fresh look at our governance structures too. Building connective tissue between bottom up and top-down systems is key. Facilitating community wealth building strategies and investment in roles like the Future Generations Commissioners in Wales are top opportunities. It isn't about spending more, in fact it's an opportunity to reduce duplication and harness existing resources agnostic to industry or government, primed to local potential as the Welsh Government has done so well. Better procurement through preparation. Meaningful engagement. Scrutiny in investments. None of this is easy and all of it, iterative, because communities are never the same and their needs and aspirations are constantly changing. But therein lies its power: responsive, collaborative, based on lived experience and adaptive to change.

Resilient by design.

If you are reading this and wondering where to start with the framework, it will never not serve you to start with Country. Then take a look at the themes and really narrow in on:

1. Partnering with others

2. consider what you can change in your core business to mitigate impacts first and foremost

3. build out slowly, by getting the culture right

4. Then and only then, set your KPIs.

Country and community do and have always had the solutions to their own wellbeing. The opportunity exists for all of us to build a better table together to sit at.

More info on the framework can be found here