Integrating non-material aspects of human flourishing into the SDGs

Non-material aspects of human flourishing, like emotional well-being, cultural identity, spiritual practices, mental health, and community engagement support, are essential components of today’s policy development vocabulary. What truly contributes to human flourishing, particularly in times of cultural change and its impact on psychosocial well-being, are these non-material factors rather than material comforts. These aspects of non-material human flourishing are closely interconnected.

Rapid social transformation, migration, or decline in the cultural identity can often leave people feeling lost or socially disoriented, impacting one’s mental health or even at the community level. It is imperative to recognise the role of culture in supporting well-being and how cultural contexts influence psychological health and shape our inner lives.

Renegotiating SDG Framework

Maybe we could achieve this by relooking into the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework post-2030. One way to achieve this is by incorporating these non-material dimensions into the future SDG’s framework. There is a need for development to go beyond material metrics, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to understand and measure progress, where human experience is often overlooked.

Recent research has also opined that the current SDG framework remains insufficient to realise human flourishing and that the policies must encourage practices and initiatives that nurture these non-material dimensions.

After conducting a year-long research program, engaging in multi-stakeholder consultations, and holding focused group discussions at The New Institute in Hamburg, researchers have suggested that “incorporating these wider dimensions of human well-being into the development agenda and policies can aim to foster societies”(Zwitter et al., 2025). This is expected to contribute to the flourishing of individuals beyond their material needs and address the interconnected systems inherent in the human experience.

The research titled “Human Flourishing: An Integrated Systems Approach to Development Post-2030” introduces a new perspective on human development, framed as human flourishing. It emphasises the importance of incorporating non-material aspects of well-being into the field of human development and suggests that governance strategies should be adjusted accordingly.

The narrow focus of current sustainability has overlooked the immaterial dimensions of human flourishing by relying heavily on quantitative metrics like GDP to gauge progress, as mentioned in Joseph E. Stiglitz’s journal “Mis-measuring Our Lives: Why GDP Doesn’t Add Up.” Mental health, community resilience, cultural and spiritual fulfilment, and a sense of purpose are crucial to understanding human well-being and sustainability.

Acknowledging this contradiction between material and non-material, new initiatives like Inner Development Goals (https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/) are already emerging to fill the gaps. It aims to enhance development discourse by providing an inclusive framework that fosters human flourishing. Policymakers are urged to implement practices that support mental health, cultural expression, community engagement, and spiritual growth.

Towards human flourishing

The study also recommends policies for promoting human flourishing after 2030 by actively encouraging the decentralisation of goals, targets, and indicators. This will allow for the customisation of objectives to better align with local conditions and priorities. It is essential to establish mechanisms that enable local communities to regularly participate in the decision-making process through feedback, ensuring that their voices are heard and their knowledge is integrated into sustainable development strategies.

The localisation and implementation of development targets would contribute to inclusive, equitable, and effective human flourishing. This approach would empower communities and promote a bottom-up strategy, enhancing the cultural, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects of local populations. Eventually, this would lead to greater empowerment and participation among local communities, allowing them to shape their sustainable future.

Having contextual relevance and tailored indicators and targets is essential to address local conditions, cultural needs, and specificities while also encouraging local innovations and solutions. One possible procedural norm is the incorporation of indigenous knowledge, which would involve utilising grassroots efforts to find sustainable solutions and ensuring that global objectives are in harmony with local capabilities and requirements.

All these strategies are possible to achieve by creating flexible frameworks and fostering partnership among government, non-government organisations and community organisations.

Martin Seligman, a pioneer in psychology, discusses the significance of non-material conditions for human flourishing in his work, “Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Wellbeing and How to Achieve Them.” He emphasises that these conditions are deeply rooted in the local cultural, social, and spiritual practices. Therefore, the policies must incorporate indicators that reflect relationships, community resilience, and ecosystem health, valuing harmony between human activities and the natural world.

Research has recommended the development of new indicators, such as Integrated Flourishing Measures (IFMs), to more accurately reflect the non-material aspects of development and address the limitations of GDP-focused metrics. Members involved in the renegotiation of the SDGs could advocate for localised indicators, including measures of community cohesion, cultural vitality, language vitality, and environmental health. One potential indicator could be a measure of psychosocial well-being and happiness, encompassing life satisfaction, emotional well-being, fulfillment beyond economic status, mindfulness, and religious and spiritual well-being.

For instance, human flourishing aspects, such as happiness, friendship, cultural expression, and spiritual fulfilment, require a reevaluation because they cannot be measured quantitatively. In this context, Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) serves as evidence of shifting away from traditional material indicators and focusing on well-being over wealth.

This deeply resonates with Bhutan, where, guided by visionary monarchs and with the support of development partners, it has achieved remarkable progress since the inception of planned development in 1961. The 13th Five-Year Plan document also states that its development philosophy of GNH, which advocates for a holistic and responsible approach to sustainable and inclusive development, has already inspired global policy framework, including part of the 2030 agenda for SDG and sustainable development. Bhutan has long demonstrated that prioritising well-being over wealth is not only possible but transformative, too—it could guide the renegotiation of the SDG framework.

Contributed by Yangchen C Rinzin The writer is a reporter for Kuensel and is currently working as a researcher at the Centre for Bhutan and GNH Studies on deputation.