Thoughts on Indicators
by Eric Rodenburg
Abstracted from Environmental Indicators, World Resources 1995. Rodenburg, et al.
Indicators provide information in more quantitative terms than words or pictures alone; they imply a metric against which some aspects of public policy interest can be measured. They also provide information in a simpler, more readily understood form than complex statistics or other kinds of economic or scientific data; they imply a model or set of assumptions that relates the indicator to more complex phenomena. All of this must be explicit.
There are therefore two defining characteristics of policy relevant indicators.
- Indicators quantify information so that its significance is more readily apparent.
- Indicators simplify information about complex phenomena to improve communication.
Indicators can be presented in tables, maps, or other graphics and still, potentially, meet these criteria.
Indicators must also be:
User driven (meet the needs of the intended audience), policy relevant (interpretable in terms of, for example, progress toward some national policy goal), and (where possible) highly aggregated to limited the universe of indicators to tell any one story.
While a conceptual framework for indicators is needed, that framework can be issue specific. But, in general it is important that indicators suites be developed that show context. Time trends, spatial trends, and even policy trends can be used to give context to indicators. Without such context a policy maker/shaper has no way to assess the need for policy interventions.
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