Indicators and Data Collection
Completing the Indicator table – Definitions for each column in the table:
1. Annual Target: Targets should be specific, realistic and ambitious. With few exceptions, targets should be numeric. They cannot be a range (e.g. 45-55 is not acceptable, 50 is acceptable). There is no need to qualify a target (e.g. 50 children) because who or what the agency is measuring should be very clear in the indicator description (e.g. increase in children attending homework clubs). |
2. Frequency and timing of data collection: How often and when data is collected. Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, Each January and July, annually etc… Is there a specific time period when data is collected (e.g. only during the school year, during tax season)? |
3. Method to data collection or calculation: Describe the approach or plan to collect the data, including where data will be kept, how results will be calculated. Think through the steps to calculate the necessary figure or determine the result, this will help to ensure your indicator is realistic and appropriate and measurable. |
4. Data Source: Where the data needed to calculate or track the indicator will be coming from. It should be clear whether the source is internal to the organization or external. If you were asked to provide evidence of the figures you calculated or provided for your indicator, what documentation or source would you provide? |
5. Person(s) responsible for data collection: When designing an indicator, it is important to think about who will be responsible for collecting and maintaining the data, to ensure that it will be feasible to collect. Is this a staff member? A consultant? A volunteer? Identify the title of the person responsible. |
Custom Indicator Development Tips:
- Involve appropriate staff in indicator development (e.g. people who would be implementing the program, reporting on results).
- Indicators are not meant to be only extractive, they should be helpful to your agency and not only United Way
- Indicators must be able to stand alone without accompanying explanation. Would someone unfamiliar with your program understand your indicators?
- The ideal number of indicators for each program depends on size and scope and complexity of program activities.
- How to decide which of your many indicators to include in your proposal?
- Limit indicators to the most important and telling indicators. Prioritize your ‘headline’ indicators (the ones you would use in a speech or news article).
- If you have to prioritize, select the indicator that shows the most about how you are progressing towards your ultimate goal.
Example – Indicators for an employment program in order of priority from LOWEST to HIGHEST
- Clients assessed at intake
- Clients receiving resume writing training
- Clients with updated resumes
- Clients receiving one or more interviews
- Clients served who obtain employment
Ideally indicators should measure only one change. It is difficult to calculate and justify indicators that measure more than one change at a time. Since both changes would have to provide a positive result in order to count toward your indicator result, your combined result would be lower than if you measured the two changes separately.
Indicator Description Example:
Increased homework completion/school engagement(target: 50%)- Increased homework completion (target 50%) ✔
- Increased school engagement (target 50%) ✔
Indicators that measure work processes are not as telling as indicators that show how much you have done, how well you did it or if anyone is better off. Examples of work process indicators: (e.g. emails sent, hours spent working on a task)
Indicator Description Example:
Clients will be trained on small business practices- Clients trained on small business practices ✔
You will report on your indicators afterward, so past is more appropriate than future tense.
Indicator Description Example:
Clients responding Agree or strongly agree when asked if they feel their self-confidence has improved.- Clients with increased self-confidence. ✔
Indicator description should not read like a survey response, the description of how the indicator will be derived or calculated should be noted in the method of calculation field.
Indicator Description Examples:
Volunteers- Seniors' Recreation Program Volunteers ✔
Improved Self-Esteem- Students have Improved Self-Esteem ✔
The subject of the indicator should be apparent
General Tips
- Targets should be numeric. You may have a different target for each year or maintain the same target for one or more years.
- Clearly distinguish unique clients from client visits/contacts.
- Satisfaction is not a client outcome, rather it speaks to how well you did, which is an output. The more specific the outcome indicator, the better.
- Specify whether evaluation tools are in house or standardized.
- A few quality outcome indicators is preferable to a long list of output indicators.
- Multiple indicators that essentially measure the same process or activity is not desirable.
- Make sure you have thought through how the indicator will be measured and whether it is feasible given timelines, human and financial resources.
- Avoid repetition of information in multiple columns
- Avoid – ‘same as above’ etc. - Indicators will be exported from database and sorted
- Check calculations/numbers for consistency