Toward a Vision

1. Toward a Vision for a National System of Natural and Environmental Resource Indicators

2. General Goals • Enable public discourse and leadership • Improve policy and resource allocation • Enhance government efficiency and accountability • Inform private decisions by citizens, consumers and businesses

3. Vision • The Federal Government and non-Federal partners will develop, maintain and continuously improve a national system to report • Indicators on natural and environmental resources, and • Indicators on closely related human health, social and economic factors.

4. Range of Uses and Users of Indicators • Public discourse at national, tribal, state and local levels • International reporting and discourse • Tribal, state and local management

5. Range of Uses and Users of Indicators (cont.) • Business investment and management • NGO activities • Citizens’ and consumers’ education and decision making • Research

6. Range of Federal Uses and Users of Indicators • Policy and resource allocation decisions • Strategic planning and performance management • Agency management of resources and programs • Research

7. Roles of Indicators • Provide accurate feedback on the conditions of natural and environmental resources. • Promote learning that improves the effectiveness of decisions and actions. • Provide a factual basis for development of various types of information people use.

8. The Roles of Information:A Medical Analogy Assessment Diagnosis Prescription Counterindications Treatment Focused Tests Vital Signs Consent Patient Reassessment Monitoring

9. Information Pyramid Fewer Pieces Of Information Stories Summary or Core Indictors More Specific Indicators More Pieces Of Information Detailed Measurements

10. The Role of Feedback Values Set Goals, Objectives, Targets Evaluate Alternative Actions Decide Knowledge Implement Feedback Consequences Interactions Within & Across Systems Actions

11. The System Should Provide Information Suitable for Use In: • Assessment of conditions and consequences of past actions, • Measuring performance of past policies and programs, and • Identifying and gauging the extent of problems that need to be addressed.

12. The System Should Provide More Extensive Information for: • Diagnosis of problems and prescription of actions to be taken, • Monitoring of implementation, and • Research to develop or improve capacities for assessment, diagnosis and forecasting.

13. Characteristics of an Effective Indicator System • Regularly publish a limited number of core national indicators. • Make widely available the • data from which indicators are computed, • data that measure related phenomena and • data at scales relevant to different users.

14. Characteristics of an Effective Indicator System (cont.) • Be relevant to the intended uses and users and address key questions. • Provide consistent and scientifically credible indicators and data. • Be communicated to the public and to high level policy makers in concise forms.

15. Characteristics of an Effective Indicator System (cont.) • Be flexible enough to respond to changing knowledge and conditions. • Have the capacity for continuous improvement of indicators and data.

16. Questions for Discussion • Does this Vision for an indicator system have appropriate goals? • Are the roles of indicators appropriately described? • Is the range of uses and users too broad or too narrow?

17. Questions for Discussion • Have we omitted anything important? • Are there particular topics related to non-Federal users of indicators that need more emphasis? • Does this Vision raise any concerns? • Of what pitfalls should be Working Group be wary?