Discover a world where businesses, social institutions, leaders and societies are judged on the degree of meaning they generate
The Center for Applied Meaningfulness rests on the assumption that meaningfulness is a better way of measuring societal well-being or human progress than existing indexes such as GDP or happiness.
Material (economic) development
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Human development
Human Development Index (HDI) and Global Happiness Index (GHI), amongst others
Subjective-centered development
Subjective Well-being Index, Human Flourishing Index, amongst others
Meaningfulness-centered development
Meaningfulness Index
Center for Applied Meaningfulness
Measuring and exploring the impact of meaningfulness on life and societies
Whilst Voluntās has already measured and explored the impact of meaningfulness across organizations, the Center for Applied Meaningfulness will allow us to investigate meaningfulness across all aspects of life including, but not limited to, education, health, urban planning, and public finance.
Across organizations
Focus of exploration:
Human beings as a function of their company or organization
Sectors:
Work
Partners:
Companies, Organizations, Foundations
Across societies
Focus of exploration:
Human beings as a function of their society and life
Sectors:
Health, Education, Urban Planning, Art and Creativity, Public Finance
Partners:
Governments, Multilateral/Global Organizations, General Public, Universities and Research Institutes
Four milestones lie along the journey towards more meaningful societies
Constellations
These are the sentiments of meaning—where all of the activities and experiences in life converge around a set of key feelings.
We believe that meaning is temporal: it’s the opposite of instant gratification. Rather, meaning happens when one feels a sense of purpose, belonging, opportunity and encouragement to grow.
But meaning is as varied as the people who search for it in life, so we hope to find and promote as many constellations as we can, within every sector of life.
Where meaning lives
Meaningful work has been our focus for the past half decade, but we believe that you live one life that extends beyond work.
To that end, we seek to learn how these constellations emerge in other sectors:
- Health
- Education
- Urban and city planning
- Art and creativity
- Public finance
- Innovation
Interventions
Within the work sector, we’ve promoted interventions such as human potential development plans, self-awareness conversations, and initiatives to anchor purpose in the workplace. But if these don’t translate to a sector like health or education, what does?
After identifying a constellation and its place within a particular sector, we identify and promote activities and interventions that promote meaning for the humans involved.
Outcomes
How do interventions and meaningful activities impact other areas of life?
Our hypothesis is that focusing on meaning leads to a better life across the spectrum. To test this, we are developing a new tool to measure meaning in all walks of life.
Using our digital analytics and AI platforms, we investigate how activities that promote meaning also affect quality and longevity of life, stress, productivity, diversity and inclusion, education, and much more.
We would love to hear from you!
Collaborate with us
We’re always looking for meaningful partnerships.
If you have an idea for a project, a suggestion for what we should investigate, or just want to make contact, please drop us a line.
Master or PhD program
Are you a Master or PhD student looking to further knowledge production on meaningfulness?
Center for Applied Meaningfulness would be thrilled to embark upon that journey together to create long-lasting and impactful research. Please contact us if you want to know more about our process.
