Why we started
The Happier Lives Institute was founded in 2019 by philosopher Michael Plant, who wanted to answer a neglected but vital question: what are the best ways to improve global happiness?
During his PhD at Oxford, Michael was thinking about how to do the most good and saw there was a growing science of happiness. But he realised no one had tried to put these two ideas together and work out the most cost-effective, evidence-based ways to increase wellbeing. With a small team of researchers, he set out to change that — to put wellbeing at the heart of philanthropy and policy.
Since 2019, HLI has pioneered the use of the Wellbeing-Adjusted Life-Year — the WELLBY — a groundbreaking metric that captures the overall impact of charities and policies on people’s lives. This approach has been endorsed by the UK Treasury, cited in academia, and taken up by NGOs. With the WELLBY, we can measure what matters and compare different options to learn what’s really making people’s lives better.
Our research has focused primarily on finding the charities that create the most happiness globally for the money spent. The best organisations we’ve discovered so far work in low-income countries and treat depression, reducing lead exposure, and fighting acute malnutrition. We produce very detailed free, public reports into the charities donors can follow every step of our reasoning and give with confidence. Our research has influenced many donors, who have now directed millions of dollars to these outstanding organisations.
In 2025, we published a landmark piece of research in the World Happiness Report. This was the first-ever global comparison of charities – done in WELLBYs per dollar, of course. It found the astonishing result that the best charities have around 1,000 times more impact than standard charities. This means giving $50 to a top charity has the same impact as giving $50,000 to others – and that, if you give a little, but give effectively, you could be one of the most impactful people in the world.
When we started, people thought we were mad for attempting to quantify happiness and work out how best to increase it. In fairness, no one had really tried. We’re proud that, just seven years later, the field has blossomed, there are other organisations, researchers and governments focusing on this, and we have credible, global comparisons.
While our core mission is to find and recommend the best charities, we can’t resist dabbling in other things too. We undertake tailored research for funders, innovate on wellbeing methodology, work with academics, and advise policymakers – including being asked to help update the UK Treasury’s guidelines. We strive to ensure that as many resources as possible make the greatest difference to people’s lives.
In HLI, we take happiness seriously. Do you?