Skip to main content
Donate now

What is HLI?

What is HLI?

The Happier Lives Institute is the only organisation that researches the most cost-effective ways globally to improve wellbeing.

We find the charities that create the most happiness for the money spent, and share what we find for free, so donors can give with confidence.

Introducing the Happier Lives Institute: researching cost-effective ways to improve happiness

What does HLI do?

It's hard to choose the best charity to donate to. There are so many to choose from, and some are far more effective than others. We've done the research, and we share what we've found for free.

Charity evaluations

We're the first and only charity evaluator to recommend charities based on how much happiness they create, measured in WELLBYs.

Top Charities

  • StrongMinds
  • Friendship Bench

Promising Charities

  • Pure Earth
  • Taimaka
See our charity comparisons

Research into causes

Which cause areas, and which interventions within them, make the most difference to people's happiness.

Cause areas

  • Mental health
  • Nutrition
  • Pollution
  • Parenting

Interventions

  • Psychotherapy
  • Treating acute malnutrition
  • Micronutrient fortification
  • Preventing lead poisoning
  • Parent education
Our research

Foundational research

We research, innovate and publish on wellbeing methodology, and work with academics.

  • The nature of wellbeing: what is a good life?
  • The measurement of wellbeing: what's the best way to do this?
  • How to trade off quality and quantity of life
About the WELLBY

Outreach and advice

We advocate for maximising happiness on a global scale, and undertake tailored research for funders.

  • Free resources on the best ways to make the world happier
  • Sharing our methods with other researchers and organisations
  • Advising policymakers, including on the UK Treasury's guidelines
Work with us

Why was HLI created?

HLI was founded in 2019 by philosopher Michael Plant. 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 no one had put the two together to 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 then, HLI has pioneered the WELLBY, a metric that captures the overall impact of charities and policies on people's lives. It has been endorsed by the UK Treasury, cited in academia, and taken up by NGOs.

When we started, people thought we were mad for attempting to quantify happiness. In fairness, no one had really tried.

Today the field has blossomed. There are other organisations, researchers and governments focusing on this, and we have credible, global comparisons. At HLI, we take happiness seriously. Do you?

Meet our team
Dr Michael Plant giving a speech at a conference
2017. Michael Plant, two years before founding HLI
Team members from the Happier Lives Institute pictured together as they attend a conference
2022. The team, the year we made our first recommendations
Five team members of the Happier Lives Institute pictured together: Dr Michael Plant, Joel McGuire, Samuel Dupret, Ben Stewart and Alexandra Shearn
Today. The HLI team in October 2026

Why support HLI?

Our research is what finds the charities. Funding it is a leverage opportunity: rather than giving to one charity, you help many donors give more effectively.

Novel, important research

We're leading the charge on the best, evidence-based ways to make lives better. There's much to do.

Outreach to decision-makers

Sharing our research lets donors and decision-makers make a bigger difference than they would have otherwise.

Impartiality

We never take commission from the charities we recommend, so we rely on donations made to us directly.

A unique mission

No other charity evaluator takes happiness seriously in the way we do. Without funding, we can't continue.

Transparent results

We're open about our levels of confidence, mistakes we've made, and where we need to improve.

The wellbeing revolution

We push for the world to use happiness as a measure of success. The UK and New Zealand governments now measure it.

What your donation funds

  • Staff salaries and freelancersWe're a research organisation, so staff are the lion's share
  • ExpensesWebsite, services
  • Outreach and fundraising

We keep our costs low. Our team is small, we don't have a highly paid CEO, and we don't pay for big marketing agencies.

If we receive funding to fill our budget for the next 18 months, we will publicly declare this, and donate further funds to our recommended charities.

Fund the research behind the recommendations

Give to HLI directly, or to the Happier Lives Fund, which spreads your gift across our Top Charities and Promising Charities, with 10% funding our research.

Donate to HLI Give to the Fund

Before you go, subscribe to our newsletter!

We’ll update you on wellbeing research and how to make the world a happier place.