List Community Indicators

Community indicators are specific, observable, and measurable characteristics or changes in the community that can show the progress a program is making toward achieving a specified outcome.1 Indicators are based on observations or aspects of the community other than those associated with individuals.2

Below is an example of an outcome objective and its indicators.

Outcome:

By June 30, 2004, Walitka County will adopt a policy prohibiting smoking within all county owned or leased county government buildings including the jail and in any vehicle owned by the county.

Indicators:

  • Proportion of local communities with clean indoor air policies for public buildings
  • Proportion of local communities with policies prohibiting smoking in government-owned vehicles
When listing indicators, keep the following in mind:
  • There should be at least one indicator for each outcome.
  • The indicator must be focused and measure relevant part of the outcome.
  • The indicator must be clear and specific about what it will measure.
  • The change measured by the indicator should represent progress that the program has made toward achieving the outcome.
Tip for selecting indicators3
•
 Be sure that indicators are relevant to identified focus areas and questions.
•
 Be sure that the cost of collecting data on the indicators is within the evaluation budget, and check the source and availability of expected data.
•
 Evaluation staff must decide 1) which data collection, management, and analysis strategies are most appropriate for each indicator, and 2) whether needed technical assistance is available and affordable.

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1. Source: United Way of America. (1996). Measuring program outcomes: A practical approach. Alexandria, VA: the Author.
http://national.unitedway.org/outcomes/resources/mpo/

2. Source: Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium. (n.d.). Communities of excellence plus in tobacco control: Training and resource manual. Atlanta, GA: the Author.

3. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). Gather credible evidence. In Introduction to program evaluation for comprehensive tobacco control programs (pp. 49-65). Atlanta, GA: the Author.

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