Study title

Bolivia, South Korea

Individual

The research methodology encompassed both secondary (macro-level) and primary (micro-level) data collation/collection and analysis to enable a robust, contextualised and in-depth understanding of the effectiveness and viability of the Living Well approach. Data was derived from SDG relevant longitudinal statistical data from a range of sources to provide macro context, as well as participatory observations in four communities and interviews with local stakeholders.The secondary aspect used a range of reputable,longitudinal international and comparative surveys as well as national data sets, where available, to investigate specific issues. The factors tracked primarily related to morbidity and mortality, emissions, energy consumption, inequality, poverty, access to environmental resources, green investment, quality of living environment, waste production, labour rights, employment levels, political empowerment, subjective well-being and social protection. The participatory observation component entailed living in the communities of interest and at-tending relevant meetings and events for a three-month period overall. In Bolivia, the four communities were two cities—La Paz and Cochabamba—and two villages—Mecapaca (in the state of La Paz) and Tarata (in the state of Cochabamba). In South Korea, the four communities were Seoul and Busan, as well as two villages in the North and South of the country. These communities were selected because they represented a range of sizes, political contexts (e.g. Cochabamba had an opposition led local government), dominant ethnic groups (Aymara in La Paz and Quechua in Cochabamba) and environmental and social issues. The interview component included 84 participants, made up of a range of experts, government officials, NGO representatives, trades union organisers, community leaders, programme beneficiaries, and the wider public. The interviews were intended to understand how people conceptualized Vivir Bien/Green Economy, whether and how they were contributing to its implementation and whether and how they considered that the policy was making a difference to their lives or the lives of others. For example, people were asked ‘What does Vivir Bien/Green Economy mean to you?’ or ‘What has changed here as a result of the Vivir Bien/Green Economy policy?’. Interviewees were selected using the following sampling strategies: Purposive sampling, using participants who have particularly relevant knowledge and experience, snowball sampling, using networks to gain access to information-rich participants, opportunistic sampling, making the most of opportunities to meld the sample around the unfolding fieldwork context, and maximum variation sampling, selecting participants who lived and worked in the maximum diversity of environmental and social situations (in order to increase the opportunities to identify the varying factors and influences). The interviews were analysed thematically, using NVivo. These methods aimed to comprehensively capture needs, visions, objectives, processes, impacts, as well as the barriers to implementation and impact of the paradigms.