Council of Europe

Involving Citizens and Communities in Securing Societal Progress for the Well-being of All - Methodological Guide Council of Europe

At a time when confidence has suffered significantly and when the old benchmarks are being challenged, this guide, following on from the Methodological guide entitled Concerted development of social cohesion indicators (2005), addresses the concept of societal progress for the well-being of all by involving citizens and human communities in defining what this means and how it can be brought about. It explains how we can move from the idea of well-being pure and simple to well-being for all, and describes the interactions between personal and collective well-being so as to build a shared vision of the future and an ability to work together based on deliberation, devising measurement tools and consultation, in an approach which takes into account both present and future generations. This guide seeks to foster an approach to progress in order to make it more easily manageable and give it a more human face. With this guide, the Council of Europe is making a contribution to the current debate on progress and well-being from its own perspective, which is to renew and strengthen democratic processes and the ability of citizens to be involved in the decisions relating to the challenges facing society.