Introduction (adapted from the 2004 QLC Indicators Report)

• Download the 2004 QLC Indicators Report (Requires Adobe Reader)

Over 200 communities in the United States have developed community-based indicators of one type or another. The first national conference on the subject took place in Denver in 1996 and attracted participants from 150 different communities. This development can be attributed, in part, to the federal government’s Healthy People initiative. However, larger societal trends have prompted the development of community-based indicators. In fact, four tendencies over the last thirty years have contributed to the kinds of datagathering, assessment and community-based action that are promoted in the Healthy People initiative and other related endeavors.

The first of these trends pertains to our collective understanding of the concept of human flourishing, which has expanded greatly over time. Indeed, there is a growing disillusionment with money as the primary or sole measure of human happiness. National and international metrics, such as gross national product and gross domestic product, are no longer viewed as sufficient.

As noted in the introduction to the first Northwest Indiana Quality of Life Council’s Indicators Report: “Quality of life is ultimately more important than standard of living. Standard of living refers solely to the private domain and to the disposable income that we use to purchase things individually. Quality of life refers to the public domain. It’s the sum of things that people purchase collectively, but also includes assets we require or desire, but do not purchase, like the air we breath.” The popular management literature points to a similar disenchantment with financial measures of well-being at the individual level. In and of itself, money is no longer believed by many to constitute well-being, thus the need for more comprehensive sets of community-based indicators.

Read the introduction and the complete report by downloading the 2004 QLC Indicators Report.