The Happier Lives Institute is searching for the most cost-effective ways ​to improve global well-being.

Our analysis so far has focussed on two promising and well-evidenced interventions: cash transfers and psychotherapy. ​We used a wide evidence base to estimate the cost-effectiveness of two charities that are highly effective at implementing each type of intervention: Give Directly (which provides $1,000 lump-sum cash transfers) and StrongMinds (which provides psychotherapy).

Our analysis suggests that StrongMinds is 12 times (95% CI: 4, 24) more cost-effective than GiveDirectly in terms of subjective well-being.

Our current recommendation to donors
StrongMinds is a non-profit founded in 2013 that provides group interpersonal psychotherapy to impoverished women in Uganda and Zambia

As of October 2021, they have a funding gap of $6.6 million for 2022. They are planning for rapid growth (treating 50,000 in 2022, 100,000 in 2023, and 150,000 in 2024) equalling 300,000 women treated over the next three years. In order to do this,  they will need to raise $30 million in total.
​If you are considering making a large donation based on our research we’d be happy to discuss this in more detail with you. Please get in touch at hello@happierlivesinstitute.org.
​Plans for further research

​Of course, there are many more interventions and organisations we need to analyse before a fuller picture begins to emerge. Our research is still at an early stage, and we hope to find even more cost-effective charities in the future. 

Our research pipeline includes a range of other promising interventions, including:
Support our work
The Happier Lives Institute is searching for the best ways ​to improve global well-being. We have a pipeline of other promising interventions to analyse, but we cannot do this without the financial support of our donors.
Other promising organisations

We have not completed in-depth cost-effectiveness analyses of the following organisations yet. However, we believe they are doing valuable work and may be of interest to our readers.

​In some cases, we have included links to recommendation reports produced by our friends and collaborators at Founders Pledge.
Action for Happiness is a global movement of people committed to building a happier and more caring society. They bring together like-minded people from all walks of life and help them take practical action, drawing on the latest scientific research. 
 The Friendship Bench is an evidence-based intervention developed in Zimbabwe. Their mission is to enhance mental well-being and improve quality of life through the use of problem-solving therapy delivered by trained lay health workers. ​We plan to conduct an in-depth cost-effectiveness analysis of Friendship Bench in 2022.
The International Positive Education Network (IPEN) brings together teachers, academics, students, schools, universities, charities, companies, and governments to promote positive education. Their goals are to support collaboration, change education practice and reform government policy.
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and Usona Institute are non-profit research and educational organizations that develop medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelic-assisted mental health treatments.
Sangath is an Indian NGO which trains lay people, known as health counsellors, to deliver psychosocial treatments for depression in adults attending primary healthcare centres or for schizophrenia in community settings.

Learn more

Meet the team
Our strategy
​Research agenda
Donation advice
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The Happier Lives Institute is an approved subordinate organization/fund held within the Players Philanthropy Fund, a Maryland charitable trust that has received recognition of federal tax-exempt status as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Tax ID: 27-6601178).