Compendium: A global directory to indicator initiatives

Initiative Details

Title of Initiative The State of the USA: The Key National Indicators Initiative (KNII)
Lead Organization(s) The National Academies
Description of Goal The KNII was designed from the start with input from stakeholders (business, government, non-profits, advocacy groups, citizens, media and educators) to develop a website-based initiative that would be a trusted source for reliable information about major trends shaping the present and future of our nation. Its guiding principles are based on extensive research on other domestic and international indicator efforts. Public and private data that meet quality standards will be used. KNII’s principles and goals related to indicator selection include the following: Outreach to Identify Key Questions & Indicators: An extensive public outreach effort will help identify questions, indicators and data by determining what questions are of greatest importance to large numbers of people, what indicators have greatest relevance to those questions as judged by users, and what data offer the best statistical properties for a given indicator. What, not why: KNII will not include questions about causes of phenomena (e.g., “Why do urban areas have higher violent crime rates than rural areas?”) since such inquiries can only be answered via rigorous scientific investigation. Instead, the design groups are focusing on questions that ask about the prevalence, magnitude, and distribution of various phenomena. Disaggregation: KNII will prioritize indicators that provide information on different subpopulations (e.g., ethnic/racial, age, income groups) and geographic scales that will allow users to make a variety of comparisons. Data gaps: KNII will include indicators for which no data currently exist. By sharing such information with data producers, KNII will help create a valuable feedback loop between data users and producers.
Geographic Scope National
Progress to date/future areas of work The Key National Indicators Initiative (KNII), launched in 2003 and currently housed at The National Academies in Washington, D.C., has begun work on a comprehensive indicator set that will allow individual citizens, organizations, and elected officials to answer the question, “How are we doing as a nation?”. State of the USA™ will gather in one place credible, up-to-date information about the nation’s environmental, economic, and social performance. It is currently in development with an anticipated public release at the end of 2008.
Initiative Locations North America, UNITED STATES
Contact Person Jane L. Ross, Ph.D.
Title Director
Address Room 1125 Keck Building 500 5th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
Fax Number 202-334-3829
Telephone Number 202-334-2092
Email jross@nas.edu
Initiative Types Indicators Initiatives
Intended Use Of Initiative Indicator Development, Research
Geographic Units Both
Issue Areas Air Quality, Arts and Culture, Nature and Biodiversity, Economic Performance, Education, Employment, Human Health, Housing, Natural Resources, Population, Poverty, Public Safety, Other, Business, children, and families; civic involvement; government finance; landscape; national security plans; research and development.
Organization Types NGO
Steering Committee Since the inception of the project, there has been a Steering Committee formed of well-known individuals from academia, business, non-profits, government and the media. They have provided leadership for the project. In addition, we have had a National Coordinating Committee of over 100 interested individuals who met about twice a year to comment on the projects’ progress. Our governance structure will be changing in the next few months and the operation responsibility for the project will move to a non-profit corporation with its own Board of Directors. There will be a consortium of interested organizations and an organization for individuals interested in the current state of the practice in indicator efforts. In addition there will be a Roundtable at The National Academies that will advice the new organization on technical and scientific issues.
Funding Source Currently funding has come from several charitable foundations. In the future we anticipate receiving both public and private funds.