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Use of Happiness Index in Evaluations

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In an agriculture and micro finance project in India, it was found that the woman participant had economically improved. She however described herself as sadder than before the project began. When the reasons were explored, it was revealed that her daughter had been sent back to her home in order to get more dowry, in light of the economic improvement in the family. The organization sponsoring the project then had to help her intervene on the dowry harassment case. The two concerned Panchayats got together and decided to intervene and put pressure on the groom to withdraw the dowry demand.

 

This example indicates a possible need to look for alternate measurements for a more complete picture of the success of development projects. A possible scale of indicators is the Happiness Index in Evaluations described below:

Objectives:

  • To ascertain changes in happiness of the member during the programme or project period, and explore reasons for the changes.
  • To explore gender-specific reasons for changes in happiness

Assumption:

It is premised on the belief that income and poverty measures may not capture happiness of people. Happiness is best captured through qualitative methods than quantitative ones.

Methodology:

Happiness mapping entails mapping of whether people are feeling sad, happy, or somewhere in-between in their lives. The evaluator uses this exercise to capture whether members were less or more happy as a consequence of joining the project or programme.

  • Method 1. Ask the participants to draw three faces - sad face, moderate face, and happy face. If participants are hesitant, the evaluator draws them based upon interviewing.
  • Method 2. Ask the participants where they are now in terms of their emotional well-being, and where they were during the period before the project/programme started. Are changes, if any, negative or positive? Are they gender specific or general?
  • Method 3. Are changes, if any, due to the project/programme or other factors? If other factors, what are the other factors? If the project/programme, what aspect of the project/programme contributed to change?
  • Method  4. If there are no changes and the participant was unhappy or moderate to begin with, explore what interventions are required to make them happy - including gender specific ones.

By Ranjani K. Murthy