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The well-being and foundational economies in Wales

The concepts of the well-being and foundational economies have emerged as ways of thinking about the economy that challenge traditional models of economic growth and support the principles of sustainable development.

Wales has achieved a global leadership role in this space, highlighted as one of four examples of international best practice by the World Health Organization.

Applying a health lens to the exploration of the well-being and foundational economies in Wales offers opportunities to help shift decisions and budgets towards prevention and early intervention, increasing population health and societal well-being.

What are well-being and foundational economies?

Well-being economies are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as: 

“Economies that prioritise human, social, planetary and economic well-being, which constitute as well-being “capitals”. These include important assets such as trust, social cohesion, participation, environmental sustainability and quality employment, which are crucial for developing healthy, fairer and prosperous societies where people can thrive.”

The Welsh Government’s ‘A Healthier Wales Foundation Economy Programme’ describes the Foundational Economy as: “The part of our economy that creates and distributes goods and services that we rely on for everyday life.” The programme considers how we spend money in Wales and how we can make better decisions on how to spend it, focusing on procurement, employment, and accessibility of services.

Watch our animation below on the well-being economy in Wales.

Supporting the shift to well-being and foundational economies in Wales

Our work on well-being and foundational economies supports Public Health Wales in delivering to national legislation, strategies and priorities. 

Key strategic links include:

  • The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act (2015) establishes the context and conditions for implementing Well-being and Foundational Economies, guided by national well-being goals and indicators that promote long-term societal, environmental and economic well-being. 
  • The Welsh Government’s ‘A Healthier Wales’ strategy outlines a whole systems approach for the health and social care sector in Wales, presenting a clear link to Well-being and Foundational Economies through the focus on health and equity.
  • Cymru Can: Our Vision and Purpose’ the long-term vision (2023-30) of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales includes a mission on the Well-being Economy.

The Welsh Government’s socio-economic duty is also relevant to this piece of work, as is the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023. At the UK level, the Public Service (Social Value) Act 2013 provides important context for this work.

Public Health Wales supports the wider NHS in Wales in shifting towards Well-being and Foundational Economies through driving and sharing best practice across networks, and through supporting NHS colleagues in embedding social value approaches. In addition, we are supporting the development of a Regional Health Economy as part of the South-West Wales Regional Joint Committee.

Sharing best practice on well-being and foundational economies

Our work on well-being and foundational economies is also part of our collaboration with the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe’s Office for Investment for Health and Development (Venice, Italy).

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) exists between the Welsh Government and the WHO Regional Office for Europe to support the WHO European Well-being Economy Initiative. This MOU enables close partnership working at national and international levels in order to support the shift to a well-being Economy with health and equity at the centre.

The World Health Organisation has published a Country Deep Dive Report on the Well-being Economy in Wales, as part of a series of deep dives capturing countries’ experiences in shifting to well-being Economies in the WHO European Region. 

In spring 2025, Wales led a Policy Dialogue focused on the shift to a well-being economy. Hosted by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care from the Welsh Government, this event brought together leaders from four nations to share lessons on working across health and economy sectors to break the link between poor health and economic inactivity by investing in prevention.