About the Thriving Places Index
The TPI identifies the local conditions for wellbeing and measures whether those conditions are being delivered fairly and sustainably.
It consists of a broad set of indicators selected from datasets produced by established data agencies such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Public Health England (PHE) and the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). We select indicators that measure or provide a proxy for, the key factors known to have an influence on wellbeing. The TPI includes data for all upper and second tier Local Authorities in England and Wales.
The TPI framework is arranged into three headline elements:
Local Conditions
Equality
Sustainability
Summary scores
The scores for each headline element (out of 10) are shown in each Local Authority’s summary score.
Scorecards
Within each headline element there are domains and subdomains which show the headline elements broken down into greater detail.
Each Local Authority area has a scorecard which shows the colour-coded scores for headline elements, domains and subdomains.
Read more about the methodology and assumptions behind the TPI here.
How is the Thriving Places Index different from other data sets?
It’s consistent
The indicators that are chosen for the TPI measure evidence-based drivers of wellbeing – they are robust, valid and representative and available at Local Authority level. Measuring the same drivers for wellbeing for all Local Authorities in England and Wales provides a level of consistency that makes it possible to compare different places as well as draw connections between regional and national themes.
It’s comprehensive
The TPI offers its users a framework that brings together key data across the whole system of a place. It takes complex ideas and makes them accessible to citizens and practical for project teams on the ground. This makes it possible to understand interconnected issues through a single framework.
It’s challenging
The asset-based approach behind the TPI points to what drives wellbeing, not just what limits it. It shows how sustainably and fairly the conditions for wellbeing are being delivered, shining a crucial light on inequality and intergenerational justice and challenging the current growth-at-all-costs paradigm.
It’s practical
Local data supports local action and the indicators are chosen based on how amenable they are to Local Authority implementation. The TPI provides a shared perspective to inform and evaluate multi-stakeholder projects and programmes, and to drive better wellbeing policy and practice.
Use the Thriving Places Index as a strategic framework for change
The Thriving Places Index (TPI) is a flexible tool which can add value to both existing work and new initiatives, in particular for local authorities and their partners, including local anchor organisations and the voluntary sector.
The TPI framework offers a new way to think about and change policy emphasis, in particular if you are seeking to move to a more interconnected model of local prosperity with wellbeing and fairness at its core. It’s a conversation starter and sense-making tool for stepping into this new measurement territory.
It enables you to:
- Look at wellbeing in the round rather than simply in a health context - it shows the broader, holistic reach of wellbeing when you place it at the centre of what you do;
- Consider more traditional economic factors while asking explicit questions around sustainability and equality that you might not normally cover
- Create a shared focus and narrative in complex multi-stakeholder projects; for example whole change processes on a geographical scale with a strong focus on cross-sector working and ‘greater than the sum of the parts’ approach has the challenge of how to embed a different focus (wellbeing of current and future generations) into how a place thinks and works. The TPI is a new set of measures that can act as a compass for that work.
Find out more about how Centre for Thriving Places can work with you to create bespoke Thriving Places Index data sets and offer consultancy to embed new ways of working in your organisation. Read more here or contact us at hello@centreforthrivingplaces.org