Indicators and the Federal Statistical System: An Essential but Fraught Partnership

An indicator can be defined as a statistic used as part of an assessment exercise. There have been three relatively distinct waves of interest in indicators at the national level. Indicator work creates both opportunities and hazards for federal statistical agencies. Indicators not only increase the accessibility of federal statistics but also expose statistical agencies to charges of partisanship that can jeopardize both the credibility of their products and the agencies’ abilities to accomplish their core mission of collecting data from an increasingly wary public. Managing the tension between the scientific and political dimensions of indicator work involves acknowledging the value-laden nature of indicator development and establishing a clear division of labor, with political entities assuming responsibility for grappling with the most obviously normative issues and statistical agencies limiting their involvement in such work to the provision of statistical scientific expertise.