Evaluation of the Roundtable on Wellbeing in the North of Tyne

For ten years, Carnegie UK has been calling on governments to put wellbeing at the heart of policy. But in order to do that, decision makers need to have the right tools in place to understand and prioritise what matters to people locally. In January 2021, the North of Tyne became the first Mayoral Combined Authority in the UK to formally adopt a wellbeing framework. In doing so, they committed to aligning future decision making with the goal of improving social, economic, environmental and democratic outcomes for everyone living in the region. This evaluation tells the story of how they got there. It argues that ‘wellbeing roundtables’ can be an effective way to gather evidence and engage diverse communities in the creation of a shared vision. It also draws out nine learning points that will be useful for governments at all levels that are interested in developing a wellbeing approach.