ABSTRACT
In the time of multicrises, the concept of sustainability is becoming more important in the political decision-making. The concept of Economy of Wellbeing (EoW) is understood as a policy orientation and governance approach that puts the people, the planet and their wellbeing at the center of all policy and decision-making.
In Finland, there is a long tradition to promote sustainability and EoW approach. The National Action Plan for the Economy of Wellbeing was developed to integrate the economy-of-wellbeing approach into knowledge-based decision-making. The goal for the year 2025 is that EoW is part of the national, regional and local decision-making in a way that enables us to achieve a better balance between the social, economic and ecological dimensions of sustainable development.
Even though Finland ranks well on many indexes, there are still several challenges to sustaining the high levels of wellbeing for the present and future generations. Findings emphasise the need for strong leadership and cross-governmental cooperation when systematically monitoring, identifying and addressing trade-offs and synergies across different policy sectors.
The system change in the decision-making process should be independent from the composition of the government. Frameworks that are used in government’s decision-making processes ought to be apolitical. The politicians set the values but the decision-making processes stay the same.
This chapter summarises the evolution of the Economy of Wellbeing Approach until the September 2023.
