Listen back to @michaeldplant.bsky.social on Spencer Greenberg's 'Clearer Thinking' Podcast where they discuss topics in moral philosophy: podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/280/...

The first ever course for charities & NGOs providing evidence-based measurement tools using wellbeing science is now available for FREE on our website. ✍️Enrol today: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/research/mea...

Where do people give money to if you give them info on charity impact *and* wear top hats? We ran an experiment, 'The Happiness Factory', to find out... www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/08/27/r...

🚨New research🚨I've just had a co-authored paper on moral uncertainty come out in Ergo. We develop a new 'moral marketplace' theory that can, unlike the alternatives, justify donation splitting - and has some other major theoretical advantages too! journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article...

Your money can buy happiness for others. But the cost-effectiveness of donations, measured by wellbeing-years (WELLBYs), varies dramatically between charities. Discover the five charities that have the lowest cost per WELLBY, according to @happierlives.bsky.social research in #WHR2025.

Learn about different perspectives on what happiness means, as written by our researcher, Joel: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/08/06/w...

What happens when you: 💸 give ~real~ money to people, 🫴 which they must donate it to charity, 📜 where you give them a charity menu to choose from, 🔎as well as our research results? Enter, The Happiness Factory: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/08/27/r...

How to be happier: 1. Cultivate cheap taste 2. Get mental health advice 3. Get more light 4. Clean your air 5. Help others* *give to the highest impact charities. We've spent thousands of hours academically researching this. www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/08/19/h...

Today, August 19th, is #WorldHumanitarianDay. It was started by the UN to honour humanitarian workers killed while delivering aid. Over 360 humanitarian workers were killed in 2024. 200 in Gaza alone, making it the deadliest year on record. In 2025, we fear it may be worse.

Learn about how USAID cuts are affecting our recommended charities and how you can help, in our mid-year charity update: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/report/2025-...

We review the research on 'buying' happiness: - Can money buy happiness? - Can it buy happiness in rich and poor countries? - If so, how much happiness can it buy? - Is there an upper limit? - Are we considering happiness or life satisfaction? www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/08/12/c...

We publish long-form content on our Substack, such as: - A challenge to Ru Paul - How to fix the charity sector - Why household name charities may not be as effective as less complex, smaller charities Read these and more by subscribing: substack.com/@thehappierl...

Our webinar is taking place next week. Be sure to register to attend. We will be discussing our chapter in the @worldhappiness.report on Giving.

I sometimes dress up. I sometimes go to conferences. Today, I'm doing both for @isqols.bsky.social to promote @happierlives.bsky.social's 'Happiness Factory', a giving game where we give people real money and ask them to choose which charity to give to.

Here is HLI founder and director @michaeldplant.bsky.social in action at the @isqols.bsky.social #ISQOLS in Luxembourg. Thank you for hosting our special session on Wellbeing Value for Money and to the panelists. @worklifeyou.bsky.social

We're hosting a special session at the @isqols.bsky.social this year on wellbeing value for money. And we will be taking part in @worldhappiness.report's special session too, presenting on our chapter and answering any questions the audience has on giving and happiness. @michaeldplant.bsky.social

Just 1 day until #ISQOLS2025 kicks off in beautiful Luxembourg! Safe travels to all joining us from around the world. isqols.org/2025

The Happier Lives Institute is hosting a live webinar on how to give in ways that create the most happiness, based on the groundbreaking findings from our chapter in the 2025 World Happiness Report. Register for free: zoom.us/meeting/regi...

We are #hiring for a Development Manager. It is a fully remote role. Apply here, learn more about what we do at HLI and what the role entails at: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Our research has been praised by Probably Good in their recent overview of tackling the mental health crisis globally: probablygood.org/cause-areas/...

Zimbabwe grandmas giving 45 minutes of therapy– among the most effective ways to boost wellbeing, says HLI meta-analysis/review/CEA. bit.ly/44cvnh0 Both evaluators had ~confidence in main results. Also critiques & suggestions; authors responded in detail. ->

Good intentions aren't enough. Is the charity sector fundamentally flawed? We ask this question for our blog this week: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/07/01/i...

@happierlives.bsky.social , you might enjoy this finalist in an Australian art competition - it's a rendering of the World Happiness Report 2024, using a blending of each country's flag for the colour, and going left to right in global order of happiness www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/sulma...

Resharing our 5 lessons from 5 years of improving global wellbeing using happiness science, in honour of our 6th birthday which took place last week: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/report/five-...

@happierlives.bsky.social turns 6 today! 🥳🎉 All the improving world happiness stuff is cool, but, really, I'd like to thank all those people who made it possible for my parents to finally stop asking me "So, Michael, what are you going to do with a philosophy degree?" 😎

We're grateful for the openness and detailed engagement of the @happierlives.bsky.social; this is the first completed evaluation from our "evaluating impact-oriented research orgs" project: forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/GxDjyE... (Also linked to our Pivotal Questions project.) -->

Is giving just 1% of your income to effective charities the minimum for being a decent person? @michaeldplant.bsky.social for @iai.tv: iai.tv/articles/aim...

We should aim at decency, not sainthood. Morality is most commonly driven by norms, not by God or reason, and in order to catch on, norms must be achievable. |x iai.tv/articles/aim... Michael Plant argues that giving 1% is a much more effective and realistic target. #socsky

Converting your cash into a happiness multiplier? We're featured this week in @insidephilanthropy.com Thanks for the write-up @wendyparis.bsky.social @michaeldplant.bsky.social www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/money-c...

What if the cost-effectiveness of charitable donations focused on increase in wellbeing (of the beneficiaries)? The @happierlives.bsky.social Institute found the best charities are hundreds of times better at increasing happiness per dollar than others: buff.ly/oiI3dWu

What is effective giving and why we dedicate our research to it: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/05/19/e...

New research from the Happier Lives Institute shows that providing psychotherapy to people in poverty is 5-6x more cost-effective than cash transfers alone. www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/05/07/e...

36-year-old happiness researcher shares what it means—and what it takes—to be happy: 'Don't just worry about yourself'. @michaeldplant.bsky.social featured on @cnbcmakeit.cnbc.com, talking about happiness research: www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/...

At the Happier Lives Institute, we think that providing free psychotherapy for people with common mental health challenges living in low-income countries is a good idea. Latest blog on our top recommended charities StrongMinds and Friendship Bench: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/04/30/p...

Samuel, our Research Manager, discusses why using evidence-based research to measure impact is key in a podcast with Christians for Impact. He also talks about how pursuing a career in this field can lead to both personal fulfillment and global impact: www.christiansforimpact.org/episodes/sam...

Founder and director of the Happier Lives Institute @michaeldplant.bsky.social as featured in this year's World Happiness Report, on the topic of 'Giving to Others'.

🗣️ “In other words, we should focus more on subjective #wellbeing: how satisfied people are with their lives based on what they say matters most to them.” Read more via Vox (requires subscription)👇

The best charities are x100s more cost-effective than the average ones. Look at our research which is the first ever global review of published evidence: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/04/23/b...

"Higher trust and happiness make us less susceptible to the politics of fear and resentment" @michaeldplant.bsky.social @happierlives.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Happy World Earth Day! Look at what @pureearthnow.bsky.social are doing to improve global happiness and protect the environment from toxic pollution: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/04/15/t...

🔍 Before comparing the impact of policies, programmes or charities on #wellbeing, it’s critical to establish a universal measure. That’s where the WELLBY comes in. Read more in Ch8 of #WHR 2025👇 doi.org/10.18724/whr...

"The president is both a symptom and a cause of unhappiness and mistrust. But we can respond by rebuilding our social fabric" This week, @michaeldplant.bsky.social for the Happier Lives Institute in @theguardian.com: #trump #usaid #happiness

"Which charities should I donate to?" "Will donating to charity make me happy?" "Does giving effectively increase the giver’s happiness more?" and six other common questions you may have had about giving to charity:

Leading up to the publication of the @worldhappiness.report, we ran a fundraising campaign. With the final figures now in, we’re thrilled to announce that we raised a staggering $93,767.67! 🎉 Thank you to @petersinger.info & anonymous donor for matching your donations, and to you for donating. 🌻

Why we don't recommend household name charities like Oxfam, Save the Children or UNICEF: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/04/02/w...

We spoke at LSE about our findings on the world's most cost-effective charities.

We're in @vox.com talking about why money can buy happiness: www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Looking to some read more insights into the World Happiness Report? Our research team has summarised 6 lessons we've uncovered about world happiness: www.happierlivesinstitute.org/2025/03/27/6...

Michael and his team at the @happierlives.bsky.social conducted the first-ever global review of how much happiness different charities generate per dollar. In this episode, we talk about what it means to measure wellbeing,... (2/3)

Happier Lives Institute director @michaeldplant.bsky.social discusses happiness science with @petersinger.info on the Lives Well Lived podcast this week.