Inaugural Workshop January 2003


This was the first opportunity for general discussion of two groups of papers: general-conceptual and country-specific. The four collaborating country teams presented papers on the current understanding of poverty and wellbeing in their respective countries. The three general-conceptual papers outlined respectively the resource profiles approach, the theory of human needs and quality of life framework, and a fourth provided a critical overview of the frameworks.

In the country papers the contrasts and similarities between the project countries were highlighted. In terms of economic development there is a wide variation; for example, the per capita income of Thailand in purchasing power parity is about 10 times that of Ethiopia, the poorest country in the sample. There are also important similarities; the vulnerability of Bangladesh and Ethiopia to natural disasters, the former usually in the form of flooding and the latter drought, is a case in point. The abstracts of all papers and the names of participants in the workshop are included in this Newsletter.

In other sessions we began identifying important components ('domains' and 'facets’) of the subjective quality of life (QOL) of people in the four countries. Beginning from the current versions of WHOQOL, country groups suggested including new domains on cultural identity, security and un/certainty, relational issues, meaning and material aspects. In addition, a large number of specific facets of quality of life were suggested; for example, confidence in institutions, corruption, fate, membership in different communities and status.

In addition to the sessions on QOL, parallel meetings on the following were held:

• Realities of the project countries (What are the key characteristics of each country? How are these related to conditions in the other countries?)
• Theory/conceptual frameworks (Progress towards an overarching conceptual framework)
• Methodology (What combinations of methods are to be employed? What types of data will be collected and how will they be analysed?)
  The discussions on the conceptual framework emphasised the need to transcend the initial three frameworks of WeD (the resource profiles approach, the theory of human needs and quality of life). This calls for a framework that captures the specific features of the project countries, integrates other approaches by engaging in various literatures, clarifies the link between objective/subjective measures of wellbeing and improves our understanding of the dynamic link between agency and structure. The discussions on methodology came up with a work plan for the development of fieldwork, grounding and piloting, main data collection and the analysis/write-up phase.

Overall, the inaugural workshop has helped in

• Clarifying conceptual and methodological issues
• Broadly identifying a work plan for future activities
• Highlighting the similarities and differences between the project countries
• Creating personal contacts between members of the project in different countries enhancing the sharing of experiences.