Case Study

Cornwall: bringing together multidisciplinary expertise

Based on the Doughnut Economics framework

Inspired by Doughnut Economics, Cornwall Council in the United Kingdom has developed an online Cornwall Development and Decision Wheel that allows policymakers to work together efficiently in completing a wellbeing policy impact assessment.

The Cornwall Development and Decision Wheel is an online tool that is located on a dedicated portal available to all council staff. The tool is based on the Doughnut Economics framework and consists of two parts. 

  • A first Environmental and Social wheel (see image below) invites policymakers to click on the different wellbeing dimensions in the Cornwall Doughnut framework, to provide an assessment of the impact of their proposal on environmental and social outcomes, using a set of guiding questions. 

  • A second Equality and Inclusion Wheel helps staff to assess impacts on different groups of people within the Cornwall community.

Policy analysts are encouraged to complete both wheels early on in in their strategy formulation and policy development trajectories. The policy or project lead can delegate the assessment of different parts of the wheel to different experts, who, in turn, can collaborate with other experts and knowledge holders to complete the assessment. 

Policy analysts provide a description of the main considerations that shape their assessment, based on the research and consultation conducted, as well as scoring the impact on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (‘Long-lasting or severe negative impact’) to 5 (‘Long-lasting or extensive positive impact’). The scoring colours each segment, which in turn supports the communication of the impact assessment to decision makers. The coloured wheel helps to highlight at a glance the key issues for debate, early on in the strategy or policy development process.

The tool is used for the majority of decisions made by the Council, including budget decisions.

References: 

Turner, R. Poznansky, F., Smirthwaite, N., Blundell, A., Benson, D., Gaston, K., Hamshar, J., Maclean, I., Wills, J. & Yan, X. (2020). Towards a sustainable Cornwall: State of the Doughnut. Technical Report. University of Exeter.