Activity: Indicator Fabricator
In order to demystify indicators, we have created a simple game to get you thinking about potential indicators for your project.
Indicator Fabricator is a game where you will practice creating indicators*. You can play it alone or with colleagues. Please note that this is a fun exercise to familiarise yourself with indicators. We do not recommend that you immediately start measuring against indicators created whilst playing this game! By all means, keep the list to refer back to later in your MEL planning, but do not use outputs of this game as the basis for your MEL plan. It is not possible to measure everything, so your choice of indicators is an important decision.
Back to the game. It is simple to play:
1) First of all, make a list of any indicators that your project or organisation already uses.
2) Next, spend ten minutes creating new indicators for your project. See hints and tips below.
Remember! An indicator should:
- Count or describe a change within ’the system’ of your project.
- Be relevant to what your project is doing or trying to achieve.
- Be specific (not vague).
- If possible, be measurable.
- Mention key timepoints where data is to be gathered.
- It may also need baseline data (before project started) to compare to.
Tip: If you have completed the Change Pathways Mapping course, you can refer to your map for ideas.
3) Assess each of your indicators against the criteria above. Are they sufficient?
4) Discuss the indicators with your team. What are the pro’s and cons of each? See important note below.
* Important note: we are not suggesting that you necessarily use the indicators that you create whilst doing this exercise. They may not be the most appropriate for your project. This is just an exercise to practice formulating your own indicators and stimulate thought and discussion about indicators within your organisation.