The Light Wheel

At Tearfund, we believe that our response to poverty must also bring change in every area of life in order for individuals and communities to flourish. That’s why we created the Light Wheel.

What is the Light Wheel?

The Light Wheel is a framework of nine interconnected aspects of wellbeing that need to be addressed if we are to see holistic (whole-life) transformation. Those nine aspects are:

• Living faith
• Social connections
• Personal relationships
• Emotional and mental wellbeing
• Physical health
• Participation and influence
• Care of the environment
• Material assets and resources
• Capabilities

The Light Wheel toolkit is a package of resources on each of these themes that helps you to explore what holistic wellbeing looks like in your community, and to measure your progress towards that transformation. For example, a checklist to use when a group of participants walk around your community, gathering information to create a map of the resources you have and where there are areas of need.

Who is it for?

If you work with communities or churches and you want to help them work towards holistic transformation, then this toolkit is for you! The Light Wheel has been used in more than 25 countries and many different contexts, including church and community transformation processes, multi-faith communities and Christian minority contexts.

Why should we use it?

Like the spokes of a wheel, each aspect of community wellbeing is important to the health of the whole. And because the aspects are connected to each other, we need to look after all of them, or those that are neglected will have a negative impact on the others. The Light Wheel helps you to do this by providing a structure and the tools for carrying out this work from initial assessment through to ongoing evaluation and implementation.

Where do I start?

We suggest starting with our introduction to the Light Wheel - a two-hour online course that provides an overview of how it works.

How should it be used?

We can use the Light Wheel:

1. as a lens whenever we want to think more holistically about wellbeing, or encourage other people to do the same. This can help us to see our lives differently, and can inspire people to believe change is possible.
2. to help people explore their needs and to prioritise what should be addressed in our project design. As people come together to listen to each other's experiences, the Light Wheel can be used to ensure that the needs assessment covers all different areas of their lives. This helps participants become more self-aware, dream about the changes they want to see, and feel motivated to achieve these changes themselves.
3. when we are designing a new response, to ensure we are meeting people's needs in a holistic way. Alternatively, we can use it to assess the outcomes of an existing response, to see how we can make its impact more holistic. 
4. to capture data on each of the nine aspects of wellbeing to establish a baseline. This information can be used as a point of comparison when we come to monitor or evaluate the situation later on (eg in a midline or endline evaluation), to see what change has taken place and why. 
5. to monitor progress, checking in regularly during our response to see if things are moving in the right direction. It helps us to learn what is working and make changes if anything needs to be improved. Using the nine aspects of wellbeing in our monitoring activities can help us ensure our response is having a holistic impact. 
6. to assess if and how change has taken place over time, and what our contribution has been.
7. to frame research topics and questions, and understand what drives and sustains holistic change.