READ

The books and articles listed below will help you to deepen your understanding of what happiness is, how to measure it, what affects it and what can be done to improve it. Please tell us about other resources we could add to this list by contacting us at hello@happierlivesinstitute.org

DONATE

Action for Happiness 
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. They are backed by leading experts from diverse fields including psychology, education, economics and social innovation.

Friendship Bench 
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.

Happier Lives Institute
Yes, that’s us! At the moment, we are a network of volunteers researching happiness interventions in our spare time. If you are interested in providing funding to help us scale up our work and establish ourselves as a registered charity then please contact our director, Michael Plant, at [EMAIL].

International Positive Education Network 
The International Positive Education Network (IPEN) brings together teachers, parents, academics, students, schools, colleges, universities, charities, companies and governments to promote positive education. Their goals are to support collaboration, change education practice and reform government policy.

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) 
MAPS is a non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana.

Sangath 
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.

StrongMinds 
​StrongMinds treats depression in women in Africa through community-based mental health interventions, including Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy programs.

VOLUNTEER

If you would like to contribute your time and talent to support our work then we’d love to hear from you. We are currently looking for volunteers with the following skills:

• research
• strategy
• operations
• fundraising

If you would like to discuss volunteering opportunities then please contact us at [EMAIL].

CAREERS

As our research develops, we intend to publish detailed career profiles to guide people who want to dedicate their careers to maximising the happiness of others. Our career research agenda sets out the process we will be following to identify the most high-impact careers for increasing happiness.
​
In the meantime, here are some initial ideas that we think are promising:

• Cause prioritisation research - it’s hard to escape this conclusion, given how little work has been done. See our research agenda for more details.
• Economics (or other social science) research into happiness, e.g. determining what the most effective government policies are.
• Research into new treatments for mental health, e.g. psychedelics, and/or advocacy for these treatments.
• Work in developing world mental health. Trying to improve organisations already in this area, possibly with a view to trying to start new, more effective ones.
• Entrepreneurship in mental health technology. There are some effective altruists working on projects in this area already, such as Mind Ease and UpLift.
• Politics or policy. Trying to change what governments do and their attitudes towards happiness.

Our friends at 80,000 Hours also have a wealth of excellent research-backed resources to help you find a fulfilling and high-impact career.