Approach to Wellbeing

Wellbeing includes everything that is important to people and their lives.  Put simply, it is ‘how we are doing’ and ‘how satisfied we are with our lives’.  Factors identified by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that affect - and are affected by - personal wellbeing include: relationships; health (mental and physical); what we do; where we live; personal finance; economy; education & skills; governance and environment.

These factors change over time for all of us, and sometimes we need help.  Alongside services offered by organisations like the Council and the NHS, we can often find help within our communities; provided by local people, charities, and voluntary groups.

The County Durham Approach to Wellbeing is based on the best public health evidence for improving people’s wellbeing through implementing community centred approaches.  The Approach to Wellbeing is about putting people at the heart of everything we do and underpins our work to achieve the County Durham Vision.

1. Empowering communities

working with communities to support their development and empowerment

2. Being asset focused

acknowledging the different needs of communities and the potential of their assets

3. Building resilience

helping the most disadvantaged and vulnerable and building up their future resilience

4. Working better together

working together across sectors to reduce duplication and ensure greater impact

5. Sharing decision making

designing and developing services and initiatives with the people who need them

6. Doing 'with', not 'to'

making our interventions empowering and centred around you as an individual

7. A strong evidence base

everything we do is supported by evidence informed by local conversations

The Approach to Wellbeing Framework has been developed to help reflect on the way we work and the impact this could have on community wellbeing; and to identify ways to embed the Wellbeing Principles further.  It can be used for:

Project planning

Developing inclusive strategies and policies

Collaborative commissioning and delivery

Community engagement activities

Evaluation

The framework is particularly effective in a group or workshop setting where people can have conversations, challenge each other and develop a shared commitment to the approach.  Please contact approachtowellbeing@durham.gov.uk if you would like any help with using it.

Have a look at our case studies page to find out about some of the practical ways others have embedded the approach in their work.

Approach to Wellbeing Self-Assessment Form

It is important that the Approach to Wellbeing develops over time in response to feedback from people using it.  We are interested to know how helpful it has been, what has worked well for you and what hasn’t.

If you have any queries, or comments please contact us at approachtowellbeing@durham.gov.uk