University Outreach and Extension
University of Missouri System and Lincoln University

Benchmarks & Indicators

 Introduction

Benchmarks and Indicators serve an important role in the program development process. Used in combination with the program objectives they provide the basis for program accountability. A benchmark serves as a reference point in determining the current situation or position relative to the stated objective. A benchmark (baseline) establishes the point from which measurements can be made. Indicators identify what will be measured. The final county plan will include benchmarks or a description of the way in which benchmarks will be determined. The plan will also include the indicators that will be used to measure progress. See Model County Program Plan for additional information.

Why

For a number of years their have been rising demands for " performance, " accountability," and "results." These demands come from both internal and external sources. We need to know whether our efforts are bringing about desired results. Citizens and elected officials are becoming more demanding of tangible returns on the dollars they invest. Four major federal statues designed to improve accountability for results are the Government Performance Review Act (GPRA), the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act, the Government Management Reform Act, and the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996. The GPRA most directly effects UO/E. The law (GPRA) stated in simple terms requires "that we chart a course for every endeavor that we take the people’s money for, see how well we are progressing, tell the public how well we are doing, stop the things that don’t work, and never stop improving the things that we think are worth investing in." While the initial move toward more accountability for the use of public dollars started at the federal level in 1990 many states have followed with increased requirements for accountability. Thus we need to take actions to become more accountability for our programs for our own self-improvement as well as to satisfy demands from our funding sources.

How

A review of the major trends in the county, results of the current program review, and the deliberative group discussions should provide the basis for determining the benchmark or baseline. In some cases, depending on the specific program or situation this will be evident, in other cases additional data maybe needed to determine the benchmark. In the first instance simply state the obvious benchmark, in the other describe the procedures to be used in determining the benchmark.

For example, assume we are going to implement an intensive grazing program in a county for the first time and we know from an examination of the data and personal experience that currently there are no intensive grazing programs in the county then an appropriate benchmark would be zero producers utilizing an intensive grazing program. Given this as our starting point and considering our stated objectives we would identify the indicators that would provide measures of our progress in attaining the stated objectives. Some indicators might be the numbers of producers attending educational sessions, implementing certain practices, and implementing a complete intensive grazing program.

Another example: Assume we are going to implement a program to make quality child care more available to working parents in the county. We are not sure of the numbers and quality of the services currently available. A proposed procedure to determine benchmarks might include a county survey to determine number of services, location of services, type of program offered, level of staff training, or other pertinent variables. Indicators would follow from the survey items.

In summary benchmarks identify in specific terms the current condition/situation and provide the base for measuring progress. Indicators identify what we will be measuring.

Note

The emphasis is on changes in situations with producers, families, and communities. Benchmarks and indicators should focus on changes at these levels, we are not trying to measure the number of education sessions we hold or the number of people we talk to. The emphasis is on what happens as a result of our focused efforts on high priority issues that have been identified by local people. Campus faculty should be of assistance in helping describe procedures for identifying benchmarks and indicators.

07/07/00