Citizen Prosperity Index
Our Citizen Prosperity Indexes are designed to encapsulate meaningful data at a level that makes sense to communities, and which can be relayed back to government for policy-making.
Most indicators and metrics are decided by experts in government, universities or business, and assumed to be relevant to communities everywhere. The Citizen Prosperity Index is different. Based on extensive research carried out by citizen scientists and involving people living and working in neighbourhoods, the Index reports on factors that local people say support prosperity and quality of life in their neighbourhoods.
The Citizen Prosperity Index has been developed to help decision makers and communities to understand what prosperity means and identify strategies for local action. It is a new way of bringing local priorities to decision-making; it is a method that has been piloted in east London and is now used by our PROCOL teams in Africa and Lebanon as part of a larger agenda for developing sustainable ways to improve the quality of life of people throughout the world.
East London
The east London Citizen Prosperity Index reports on 17 headline indicators that were identified as most important to the prosperity of local communities. Each of the headline indicators falls under one of 5 key prosperity domains:
-
Foundations of Prosperity
-
Opportunities and Aspirations
-
Power, Voice and Influence
-
Belonging, Connections and Leisure
-
Health and Healthy Environments
This Citizen Prosperity Index is compiled from specially-commissioned household survey data, which compares local experience to the average for Greater London. It is a new way of bringing local priorities to decision-making; a method that has been piloted in east London and can be applied to communities around the UK.
PROCOL UK's Prosperity in east London 2021-2031 Longitudinal Study is the first longitudinal study in the UK to use the CPI.
Lebanon
PROCOL Lebanon explores what prosperity means for people in Lebanon and how it can be achieved in the context of large-scale displacement in an inclusive way that benefits all residents. The research developed in this theme will be used to develop innovative tools and frameworks which residents can use to monitor the prosperity and quality of life in their community.
The team leads scientific research on wellbeing and its challenges in local neighbourhoods. We adopt a participatory approach where data collected by citizen scientists is used to develop urban interventions that address their own community’s needs and create positive change in the neighbourhood.
Tanzania
The Citizen Prosperity Index for Tanzania - known locally as the 'Maisha Bora' (good life) Index - is being developed with the Centre for Community Initiatives (CCI) and a team of citizen scientists in Dar es Salaam.
The research focuses on understanding and measuring pathways to prosperity from the perspectives of people living in informal settlements. Dar es Salaam is one of Africa's fastest growing urban centres and current estimates suggest that 70 per cent of city residents live in unplanned or informal settlements. The Maisha Bora Index for Tanzania aims to reflect the realities of urban life and to bring a diversity of voices and experiences to urban policymaking.