The Citizen Prosperity Index
The IGP's Citizen Prosperity Index is designed to encapsulate meaningful data at a level that makes sense to communities, and which can be relayed back to government for policy-making
The Institute for Global Prosperity(IGP)'s citizen-led Prosperity Index measures what matters to the prosperity of local communities. 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 Citizen Prosperity 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 teams in Kenya, Tanzania, and Lebanon as part of a larger agenda for developing sustainable ways to improve the quality of life of people throughout the world.
The UK’s first citizen-led Prosperity Index measures what matters to the prosperity of local communities in east London. The Citizen Prosperity Index (CPI) was co-designed with a team of citizen social scientists based on in-depth qualitative research about lived experiences and local determinants of prosperity.
Read more about how the CPI was developed in the IGP’s working paper on ‘Rethinking prosperity for London: when citizens lead transformation’ as well as on the London Prosperity Board’s website.
The CPI 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 the 5 key prosperity domains:
- Foundations of Prosperity: Secure Livelihoods
- Health and Healthy Environments
- Belonging, Connections & Leisure
- Opportunities and Aspirations
- Power, Voice and Influence
The Citizen Prosperity Index for east London 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.
In 2021, the IGP launched the Prosperity in east London 2021-2031 Longitudinal Study – a 10-year study examining the prosperity of over 4,000 households in 15 areas of east London where large-scale and long-term urban regeneration is driving rapid physical, economic, and social changes in local communities. It is the first longitudinal study in the UK to use the Citizen Prosperity Index.
Read more about the Citizen Prosperity Index on the London Prosperity Board website
Prosperity Gains and Inclusive Growth 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 Prosperity 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.
The Prosperity Index for Kenya is based on alternative prosperity metrics that are co-designed with communities in Kenya to reflect local conditions and priorities. The work takes place in Nairobi and Elgeyo-Marakwet County and brings a diversity of voices and perspectives to the design of practical projects, policy and efforts to measure changes to prosperity over time.
The Citizen Prosperity Index - known locally as the Maisha Bora Index - for Tanzania 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.
Read more about how the Maisha Bora Index was developed in the IGP’s working paper on ‘Pathways to the good life’.
This work began as part of the Knowledge in Action for Urban Equality (KNOW) and is being taken forward by IGP's PROCOL Africa.