ABSTRACT

Quantification of social phenomena is a fundamental response of a society when it must make collective decisions. It is a way of reducing uncertainty and extracting simple ideas out of complex ones. Development of usable indicators takes time and money. Assuring indicator use requires an interactive process of design and application, and a system of opportunities and incentives for policy-makers to consider what the indicator shows. The best strategy to get indicators is one of opportunism, attaching this effort to others of more widely recognized importance. Schools are rapidly turning out policy analysts and practitioners of planning in health, housing, social work and many other areas who are not only equipped but also motivated to use numbers in support of analyses and proposals. These are the people who will increasingly be formulating the public policy issues and identifying the solutions.