Indicators are measurable information used to determine whether a project is implement the program as designed and if it has achieved its objectives through the results pursued. Indicators not only help to understand what happened or changed through project realization, but can also help to ask additional questions about how which these changes took place.
The selected indicators will form the basis of the evaluation plan, including evaluation methods, data analysis and reporting of results.
As part of the evaluation, the indicators need to be reviewed and used to improve the project throughout its life cycle.
Indicators can be quantitative and qualitative:
The selected indicators will form the basis of the evaluation plan, including evaluation methods, data analysis and reporting of results.
As part of the evaluation, the indicators need to be reviewed and used to improve the project throughout its life cycle.
Indicators can be quantitative and qualitative:
- quantitative indicators are quantitative expressions (numbers, indices, ratios or percentages) using
which are quantitatively characterized by certain achievements of a project. Quantitative indicators
measures the degree of achievement of the project results.
qualitative indicators describe the status of the project in qualitative terms. They measure whether that has been achieved
what was wanted and what was achieved.
- qualitative indicators are a qualitative expression referring to the description of the objectives or impact of a project, they contain information about: relevance, accuracy, timeliness, accessibility and clarity, comparability, coherence, feasibility.
Indicators can refer to any part of the project, its logical model or description
project. Depending on the specific stages in the development of a project / program, they differ
the following types of indicators:
- resource indicators - they measure available resources and
the degree of consumption of resources at any time of the project / program. This type of indicators refers to all types of resources: human, organizational, material, time, etc. Their role is to provide information on available resources. During the monitoring, the resource indicators show at every moment of the project life the degree of resource depletion, and during the evaluation process the resource indicators show to what extent the budget was consumed, if it was exceeded, what were the necessary resources for certain activities etc. Examples of resource indicators: total project budget, number of people involved in project implementation, number of institutions and organizations involved, etc.
- process indicators - they evaluate the progress made in
in relation to specific activities and operational results, such as direct products and results
deliverables of project activities. The assessment of activities and results indicates whether the project is
implemented as planned. These indicators express the direct products of a
time schedule. Specifically, output refers to everything that has been obtained by consuming resources.
- outcome indicators - they assess whether the project achieves the effects /
expected changes in the short, medium and long term. Because the result indicators measure
changes that occur over time, indicators must be measured at least initially (at the beginning
project) and at the end of the project.
When selecting indicators, project developers must take into account that,
sometimes collecting and analyzing indicators involves more time and costs than
collecting and analyzing other indicators. If possible, use should be considered
existing data sources (for example: surveys, questionnaires, etc.) in the field.
Sustainable indicators are simple, accurate and measurable.
In addition, projects aspire to indicators that are SMART. This means that the indicator is:
In addition, projects aspire to indicators that are SMART. This means that the indicator is:
- Specific (simple, sensitive, significant)
- Measurable (significant, motivating)
- Accessible (achievable, possible, feasible)
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourceful, results-based)
- Useful time (time based, time limited, timely, time sensitive).