| BACKGROUND
What is an indicator?
Indicators are used to communicate information
about progress towards a specific goal in a highly simplified
manner. The word "indicator" comes from the Latin verb
'indicare' meaning to disclose or to point out. Indicators
focus and condense information about complex issues for decision-making,
management, monitoring and reporting purposes. Indicators will
provide a signal to an issue of greater importance or make more
evident a trend or phenomenon that is not immediately detectable.> |
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Like any form of information,
there are limitations to their use. The acceptability of any
indicator depends on the availability and confidence of the
data, as well as the interpretation of the indicator. Interpretation
is particularly important as indicators tend to provide the
essence of a situation rather than the whole picture.
Indicators are useful for a variety of reasons:
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They provide feedback on changes in the
system;
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They improve the chances of successful
adaptation;
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They ensure movement towards a common
goal;
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They
improve implementation; and
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They
lead to increased accountability.
Indicators represent a powerful tool for communicating summary
information to the public and decision-makers. Indicators reduce
the number of measures required to understand changes in the
environment and simplify the communication process of transmitting
information to the user. |
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 Samples
of 'everyday' indicators |
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- Weather report (temperature, pollen counts and rainfall
are all indicators);
- Miners used caged canaries as an early warning of dangerous
gases;
- A doctor takes measurements when we are sick (blood
pressure and temperature are indicators);
- The dashboard in your car provides many common indicators
(temperature, petrol, oil)
- GDP and unemployment rates are common economic indicators;
and
- Literacy rates and life expectancy are common social
indicators.
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| The general rule of
thumb with indicators is "what gets measured gets done".
For this reason indicators should be well chosen and should
emphasise and relate to issues that need action or attention.
Selected indicators should be understandable and relevant
for decision-making, evaluation and communication. Indicators
on their own will not provide sufficient explanation, interpretation
and assessment to replace a full SOE report. Indicators are
therefore best used to complement SOE reports. |
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