Building indicators for inclusive development II: elements of inclusive indicators

This article lays out the general elements of inclusive indicators and reasons for their creation. It builds upon Part I of “Building indicators for inclusive development”.

Elements of inclusive indicators

Inclusive indicators are situated between inclusion and international development. Additionally they have to meet the requirements for measuring effective projects. This makes it rather difficult to identify sharp indicators and to formulate them. Thus they may be endangered to slide into inaccuracy.

The challenge

Different normative and conceptual frameworks to formulate inclusive indicators:

  1. Normative demands: Inclusive indicators have to be in-line with the UN human rights treaties. For the context of disability and inclusion the main human rights treaty is the UN CRPD
  2. Conceptual demands: The conceptual frameworks of inclusive indicators are the social model and the twin track approach. Additionally inclusive indicators are embedded into the context of human rights based approaches and should respect these demands
  3. International agreements: As for all international development activities inclusive indicators should be in-line with the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action of the OECD. They are founded on five principles that should improve the effectiveness of development cooperation. They are accepted by the international community and became a norm to describe the relation between donors and recipients of aid. The five principles are Ownership, Alignment, Harmonisation, Results and Mutual accountability. Within the Paris Declaration indicators of progress have been defined by the OECD.

Different levels

Inclusion as a complex concept can be measured at different levels. All levels have to considered in the drafting and formulation process:

    Impact on the inclusive indicators

    Taking under consideration all of the above mentioned the drafting and formulation of inclusive indicators is complex. As indicators should be SMART inclusive indicators should also be precise and clear. This influences its appearance and way of description in three ways

    1. Inclusive indicators often come in a set of indicators for impact, outcome and output. Otherwise it is difficult to formulate them in a SMART way.
    2. Inclusive indicators should orientate themselves along the rights-based approach
    3. Inclusive indicators are relational to the program or projects. This means that the formulation of one indicator cannot cover all projects and programs

    Inclusive indicators should be formulated towards the background of some standards that have been agreed upon by international and national actors building on the UN CRPD. These standards should be linked to other poverty reduction strategies and international agreements.

    The following article will describe the formulation of inclusive indicators and provide some examples.

    So long…


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