for the development of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing began with the Atkinson Charitable Foundation (ACF) in Toronto, Ontario. The ACF organized a workshop in 1999 which brought together experts in social indicators research to consider the question, "What would it take to create a tool to measure the wellbeing of Canadians?" It was agreed that such an endeavour would require a strong management structure, adequate financial support for the length of the project, and importantly, a solid base of rigorous research in order to ensure validity and credibility. Accordingly, the ACF initiated a comprehensive process in 2000 for developing what would eventually become the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. The process incorporated expert advice, broad public consultations, and contributions of research teams from across Canada, as well as discussions with government officials and potential users. The development of the CIW involved three overlapping stages between 2001 and 2010: (1) the identification of the key domains associated with Canadians' quality of life, (2) the identification of indicators directly associated with wellbeing in each of these domains and compilation of relevant data, and (3) the consolidation of a composite index for each domain and for the CIW composite index, collectively bringing together all of the domains and their specific indicators. Numerous strategies for gathering information from Canadians were used to identify the domains of wellbeing that comprise the CIW. First, in alliance with the Canadian Policy Research Network (CPRN) in 2000, public consultations were undertaken across Canada involving 350 participants in 40 discussion groups. Canadians were asked to describe which aspects of life they felt were directly related to their wellbeing and contributed most to their quality of life. The CPRN subsequently released a series of reports identifying the thematic areas Canadians believed were most influential These reports outlined specific areas and indicators of quality of life suggested by discussion group participants Next, in 2002 and again in 2004, the ACF hosted a round-table discussion and workshop and invited more than 60 experts on social indicators and wellbeing. Participants' specializations included community development, economics, education, environmental studies, health promotion, political science, and recreation, arts, and culture. Practitioners and government officials who were potential users of the index also participated in these discussions, and collectively began reviewing and assessing the information required to narrow the focus to the domains specifically regarded by Canadians as most essential to overall quality of life. Some of