What is an indicator?

Indicators are measured in order to get a clear picture of the current situation and to keep track of how things are changing. This isn't an academic exercise; it's about delivering improvements that can be clearly and easily understood by non-experts as well as experts.

Indicators usually express information in numeric form. This allows progress to be monitored, as far as possible, in an objective and consistent way.

Indicators are used to identify:

• Where resources should be focused, e.g. ‘Is the problem worse in the north of town or in the south?’ or ‘Is this more of a problem for 12-16 year olds or for primary school children?’


• If progress is being made, e.g. ‘Is this better or worse than last year?’


• How well individual projects are working, e.g. ‘Is the problem getting better where we have implemented a scheme or where we haven’t?’

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