Assessment Tools
"Traditionally, the success of a nation has been determined using economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, such measures fail to capture how society is functioning as a whole, and fail to reflect whether people’s lives are prospering in line with economic growth (Michaelson, Abdallah, Steuer, Thompson, & Marks, 2009). In fact, the continual drive to improve national economic measures may be negatively impacting people’s lives through longer working hours, decreased social connections, negative environmental impacts and rising levels of indebtedness (Michaelson et al., 2009; Stoll, Michaelson, & Seaford, 2012). Thus, there is emerging interest in capturing the wellbeing of individuals and of the population as a whole." - Human Potential Centre
Can flourishing be measured? According to Huppert and So (2011), "The dedicated study of flourishing requires an accepted definition and good quality scales by which to measure it" (p. 838).
The problem is, there are multiple definitions of flourishing, as well as a variety of scales, but "...no current agreement on which should be used in research, or to inform policy" (Huppert and So, 2011, p. 838).
While it may be some time before a widely-accepted tool for measuring flourishing is established, there are various questionnaires that have been developed in the meantime, in an effort to gain insight and/or a benchmark on flourishing, well-being, and happiness. Check out the examples below!
The Flourishing Scale - Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener, University of Illinois
The Sovereign Wellbeing Index - Sovereign & AUT University
The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire - Michael Argyle and Peter Hills, Oxford University
References
Human Potential Centre. (2013). Sovereign Wellbeing Index: New Zealand’s first measure of wellbeing. Auckland: Auckland University of Technology.
Huppert, F.A., & So, T.T.C. (2011). Flourishing across Europe: Application of a new conceptual framework for defining well-being. Social Indicators Research, 110(3), 837-861. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3545194/pdf/11205_2011_Article_9966.pdf
The Flourishing Scale - Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener, University of Illinois
The Sovereign Wellbeing Index - Sovereign & AUT University
The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire - Michael Argyle and Peter Hills, Oxford University
References
Human Potential Centre. (2013). Sovereign Wellbeing Index: New Zealand’s first measure of wellbeing. Auckland: Auckland University of Technology.
Huppert, F.A., & So, T.T.C. (2011). Flourishing across Europe: Application of a new conceptual framework for defining well-being. Social Indicators Research, 110(3), 837-861. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3545194/pdf/11205_2011_Article_9966.pdf