Community Indicators for Success
Planning Services Department
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
Phone (319) 589-4210
Fax (319) 589-4221
BUBWuE
~~~
November 28, 2000
The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
City of Dubuque
50 W. 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
SUBJECT: Recommended List of Community Indicators for Success
Dear Mayor and City Council Members:
As part of the 2000 Update of the Comprehensive Plan, the Long Range Planning
Advisory Commission has been working with City staff, community stakeholders and the
general public to develop a recommended list of Community Indicators for Success.
The Community Indicators for Success project is the City's first attempt to track long-
term quality of life changes in our community. Community indicators are measures of
trends in the community that are related to community livability and realization of goals
and objectives. For example, Community indicators for a community's economic vitality
could include the local unemployment rate, net job growth and annual tourism
revenues. Dubuque's community indicators are loosely arranged by the 14 elements of
the Comprehensive Plan.
The Commission sponsored a stakeholders meeting on July 12, 2000. Over 80
stakeholders met to review draft indicators, discuss how they can be measured and
"vote" for the indicators they feel would best reflect the quality of life in Dubuque. The
general public also has had the opportunity to review and comment on the community
indicators through a self-guided display at the Public Library. In addition, the
Commission received feedback from appropriate City Boards and Commissions on
specific categories of indicators.
The Commission has completed its review of the Community Indicators for Success
project. Recommended indicators were selected using the attached Indicator Selection
Criteria document. In some instances, indicators were not selected because data was
not readily available. For example, as a Diversity element, the Human Rights
Commission wanted to track the increase of non-majority employees in Dubuque,
including gay and lesbian people, new Americans and women in non-traditional jobs.
After researching census data, it was determined that data is not available for these
specific subsets of the population. In order to capture the data, a community-wide
survey would need to be undertaken.
Service
People
Integrity
Responsibility
Innovation
Teamwork
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The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Recommended List of Community Indicators for Success
November 28, 2000
Page 2
The final recommended list is attached to this letter. Please review the recommended
list. Following your approval of the Community Indicators for Success, the Commission
will work with City staff to research the data for the indicators. Once the data is
completed, the Commission plans to publish a report of the community indicators data
as part of the 2000 Update of the Comprehensive Plan.
Sincerely,
"'~l(ft'l N~tiA/~
Dr. Mary Lynn Neumeister, Chairperson
Long Range Planning Advisory Commission
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INDICATOR SE"."CTION CRITERIA
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O ndicators are as varied as the types of
systems they monitor. But there are cer-
tain characteristics that effective indica-
tors have In common. SelecUpn criteria help
ensure that indicators meet tests of accuracy
and usefulness. They also create common guide-
Unes Within which a diverse team of people can
work together.
A community is unlikely to find Indicators that
Will satisfy all of the following criteria. however. a
good Indicator of comm~ health is one that is: .
.. ,Ra.Ev.AftT. The indicato~ tells, you something
about the system you need to know. and is
meaningful to your community. Here are
some test questions: Does it Illustrate an
aspect of the .Ione-term' ~omic. environ-
mental. paUL_a1 and social well-being oC your
community? Does it mirror yo~r community's
culture and the fabric of its d~enry? Does it
. help tell an outsider what is *,05t important
and pertinent about your c~mmunity?
· VALlD. Understandable rationales exist. for
~ing the sp~~ Indicator and for drawing
general conclusions Crom it. Test questions:
Is'.' the indicator. truly. lII:easu~ng what it Is
meant to measure. and not a by-product? Is
the indiCator well-grounded ~d founded in
fact? Can you support. deCend and justify it
in logical or sdentlfic terms? ' .
· CREDIBLE. Even a valid Indicator may strike
the public as -Incredible: for example. if the
,
data source has ,a particular 'reputation in
the community. Test quesuons~ls the indi-
cator believable in the eyes of tl:te community
participants who selected it. as :well as to the
community at large? Does the data source for
each indicator help reinforce credibility or
detract from it?
· MEAslJRABL&. Data must uist that are rele-
vant. to your geographic area. If data are not
readily available. a practical method of data
coUection . or measurement must at least be
possible.
· COftSlSTEftT MID REJ.L\IILE. The data Cor the
indicator need to be reliably researched over
ume. Test question: Is the information source
likely to produce high quality data over a
number of years?
· CoMPARABLE. The more standardized each
indicator Is to similar indicators from other
commun1t1es. the greater your ability to
compare your community with others. Many
. indicators from different communities will
not be e.uctly alike. but the intent and spir-
it of them will be close enough for some
comparison to be made. Above all. each
indicator should be speCifically tailored to
your community.
· UIfDERSTAIfDABLE. A community Indicator Is
only as useful as its interpretation and use
. by the residents of the community. Jackson-
ville. Florida residents ask test questions
like whether their indicators are .simple
enough to be Interpreted by the general user
and the public.. Sustainable Seattle sug-
gests that indicators must be .understood
and acecpted by the community as a valid
sign of sustalnablUty or symptom of dls-
trc:ss.- It should also be clear and obvious
which direction of change represents -get-
ting better: and which represents .getting
worse. - The more understandable your
2S
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indicators. the more they v.ill be catalysts for
positive action.
. LEADING. Good -leading- indicators are like
canaries in the coal mine: they forewarn you.
whenever possible. of developing problems
well before they become dangerous or impos-
sible to solve.
. COMPELUNG, L"fTERESTING, EXCITING. The cru-
cial role of an indicator is communication.
Perhaps more important than provtding data.
indicators illustrate community values and
elicit reactions. Good indicators communi-
cate information that resonates with their
intended audience(sl.
. ENGAGE FOR USE BY LOCAL MEDIA. One impor-
tant audience is the media. because they.
reach many of the other audiences for you.
One cr1terion has to be whether the press is
likely to publicize the indicator and use it to
monitor and analyze community trends.
-.-'0 AcCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABJUTY. Community
mobilization efforts must generally be concerned
with cost. Test questions: How easily can the
data for each indicator be obtained and how
much does it cost? Are partnerships \\ithin the
community possible to accomplish this work
cost.effectivelyand efficiently?
Not every indicator _ can meet all these criteria.
but they can guide the overall selection.
Once you ha,..e a good Ust of indicators. you Will
almost certainly need to winnow It down to a
more manageable number. Which indicators are
the -best- ones? This is always a subjective judg-
ment. but here is a second set of suggested cri.
teria to help you sort things out. To be effective
and successful. Indicators should also:
. RELATE TO TnE wnOLE COMMUNITY. Does the
indicator selccted comprehensively address
the community .\S It has bcen clearly
defined? Does the indicator speak to the full
range of citizens in that community?
. CONNECT WITH VISION AND VALUES. Does the
indicator relate to the vtsion that stakehold-
ers hold for the future of the community? Is
there a vision statement that can be used as
a reference?
· MAD LINKAGES AND RElATIONSHIPS. Indicators
for a healthy and sustainable community
need to show the link among the economic.
environmental. political and social well-being
of the community. Does this indicator link to
others in a clear and comprehensible way?
Will changes in this indicator correspond to
changes in other indicators within the set?
· Focus ON RESOURCES AND NEEDS. Many mea-
surement tools highlight only community
deficits. They position the community to
react to shortcomings without also focusing
on assets that can and should be strength-
ened and enhanced. Are there indicators in
the set that highlight what Is working In the
community?
. BE CREATIVE AND ACTJON-ORJElfTED. The indica-
tors will need to be -marketed- to have
broad-based effect. Creativity. both in the
.selection of indicators themselves and in the
presentation of the Indicators. will aid in
their being noticed and used. wm the indica-
tors selected illustrate efforts made to
i~prove the community?
Indicator selection is not a one-time proposition.
Just as creating a healthy and sustainable com.
munity is not a short-term project. Community
building is a way of living. of setting priorities
and of taking action. The indicators need to be
treated the same way. as a living report card
that \..ill be adjusted over time as the community
learns how best to use this new tool.
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