Indicator design worksheet

Design indicators corresponding to each outcome element while consulting the logic model or evaluation questions. Select necessary quantitative and qualitative information and record reasons for excluding a type.

When to use this worksheet and what completion involves Fictional completed example

EvalCompass Worksheet

Indicator design worksheet

Method: Indicator Design

Basic information

Enter the program and purpose of indicator design

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Program name: Community counseling accompaniment program (fictional)
Outcome level requiring indicators (e.g., immediate outcomes): Immediate outcomes 1 month after counseling
Prepared by: Program and evaluation officers
Date prepared: September 13, 2026

Reason for this entry: Distinguish improvements in overall living conditions from short-term application behavior.

Program name

Outcome level requiring indicators (e.g., immediate outcomes)

Prepared by

Date prepared

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Enter the program and purpose of indicator design

Distinguish improvements in overall living conditions from short-term application behavior.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Follow each field’s heading to record the program name, focus, period, and other details. Leave undecided matters clearly marked as unresolved.

Read the full fictional example

Indicator list

Enter details for each indicator (one per row)

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Indicator name	Definition (what to measure and how)	Indicator type (quantitative / qualitative / proxy)	Measurement method and tools	Collection frequency	Data source	Baseline (value or collection plan)	Target (with deadline)	Person responsible
Proportion proceeding with an application	Number of first-time counseling users needing support who begin application procedures within 1 month / number followed up. Record unknown status separately	Quantitative	Verification form with the person’s consent	Monthly	Counseling and follow-up records	Use October as the first measurement because this is a new indicator	Check the proportion whose status is known by December; discuss outcome targets after seeing the initial value	Counseling officer
Reasons for discontinuing an application	Categorize reported barriers as eligibility requirements, paperwork, time, etc. Allow multiple reasons	Qualitative	Short voluntary interview	Monthly	Experiences of people who discontinued	Collect from October	Select responses to remediable barriers in December	Evaluation officer

Reason for this entry: Do not invent baselines or achievement rates for new indicators.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Indicator name	Definition (what to measure and how)	Indicator type (quantitative / qualitative / proxy)	Measurement method and tools	Collection frequency	Data source	Baseline (value or collection plan)	Target (with deadline)	Person responsible

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Enter details for each indicator (one per row)

Do not invent baselines or achievement rates for new indicators.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Keep the information in each row aligned. Scroll wide tables horizontally to see every column.

Read the full fictional example

Rationale for proxy indicators

Describe selection rationale and limitations for proxy indicators of outcomes that are difficult to measure directly

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Beginning an application is only a proxy sign of improved living conditions. Interpret it separately from starting to receive benefits and subsequent living circumstances.

Reason for this entry: Avoid overstating the meaning of indicators readily available in the short term.

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Describe selection rationale and limitations for proxy indicators of outcomes that are difficult to measure directly

Avoid overstating the meaning of indicators readily available in the short term.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Use the example as a reference and record what you have established about your own program. Distinguish assumptions and unchecked matters from confirmed facts.

Read the full fictional example

Completion checklist

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

☑ Checked: Every indicator has a definition of what to measure and how
☐ Not checked: SMART criteria are met, particularly measurability and a deadline
☑ Checked: Necessary information types are selected and reasons for exclusions recorded
☑ Checked: Baseline collection is planned
☐ Not checked: Targets have supporting grounds, such as similar programs or literature
☐ Not checked: The number of indicators fits evaluation purpose and collection burden

Reason for this entry: Targets will be discussed after the first measurement, so outcome targets, feasibility and their supporting grounds remain unchecked. Do not mark all SMART conditions as confirmed. 2 candidate indicators have been selected, but the final item also remains unchecked until collection burden and sufficiency for the evaluation’s purpose are discussed with staff.

Every indicator has a definition of what to measure and how
SMART criteria are met, particularly measurability and a deadline
Necessary information types are selected and reasons for exclusions recorded
Baseline collection is planned
Targets have supporting grounds, such as similar programs or literature
The number of indicators fits evaluation purpose and collection burden

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Targets will be discussed after the first measurement, so outcome targets, feasibility and their supporting grounds remain unchecked. Do not mark all SMART conditions as confirmed. 2 candidate indicators have been selected, but the final item also remains unchecked until collection burden and sufficiency for the evaluation’s purpose are discussed with staff.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Read each item and check those you have confirmed. Do not use the fictional example’s checkbox states as findings about your own program.

Read the full fictional example

Before writing, check when to use the worksheet and what completion involves

Indicator design worksheet is a worksheet for applying Indicator Design in meetings or individual work. For the overall duration of the method, use “Illustrative estimate (adjust for scale and staffing): half a day to 2 days (after evaluation questions and the logic model are completed)” as a reference, adjusting for scale and resources. Fill in what you know provisionally and leave unresolved matters as questions to check next.

When this worksheet is useful

Assigning measurement methods to each outcome element in a logic model or ToC
Specifying indicator fields in an evaluation design matrix
Developing a monitoring plan with regularly measured indicators for progress management

Participants and preparation

Evaluation officers, program officers and frontline staff to check measurability. Review by outside experts or statisticians is recommended.

Bring the materials used for decisions, existing data, and differing stakeholder views to help complete the worksheet.

Suggested order

1. Basic informationEnter the program and purpose of indicator design
2. Indicator listEnter details for each indicator (one per row)
3. Rationale for proxy indicatorsDescribe selection rationale and limitations for proxy indicators of outcomes that are difficult to measure directly
4. Completion checklist

Signs the worksheet is ready for review

Indicator list with definitions, measurement methods, baselines and targets
Monitoring plan
Baseline survey plan

Cautions for review

Selecting only easily counted activities and omitting important changes.
Treating an unmeasured starting point as 0.
Collectors use different definitions of the denominator or deduplication.

Guides to read before starting

Read a completed fictional example (your entries will not change)

Fictional example; not actual results

The following fictional example checks progress in a counseling accompaniment program monthly. The targets shown are proposals for this fictional plan.

Basic information

Program name: Community counseling accompaniment program (fictional)
Outcome level requiring indicators (e.g., immediate outcomes): Immediate outcomes 1 month after counseling
Prepared by: Program and evaluation officers
Date prepared: September 13, 2026

Reason for this entry: Distinguish improvements in overall living conditions from short-term application behavior.

Indicator list

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Indicator name	Definition (what to measure and how)	Indicator type (quantitative / qualitative / proxy)	Measurement method and tools	Collection frequency	Data source	Baseline (value or collection plan)	Target (with deadline)	Person responsible
Proportion proceeding with an application	Number of first-time counseling users needing support who begin application procedures within 1 month / number followed up. Record unknown status separately	Quantitative	Verification form with the person’s consent	Monthly	Counseling and follow-up records	Use October as the first measurement because this is a new indicator	Check the proportion whose status is known by December; discuss outcome targets after seeing the initial value	Counseling officer
Reasons for discontinuing an application	Categorize reported barriers as eligibility requirements, paperwork, time, etc. Allow multiple reasons	Qualitative	Short voluntary interview	Monthly	Experiences of people who discontinued	Collect from October	Select responses to remediable barriers in December	Evaluation officer

Reason for this entry: Do not invent baselines or achievement rates for new indicators.

Rationale for proxy indicators

Beginning an application is only a proxy sign of improved living conditions. Interpret it separately from starting to receive benefits and subsequent living circumstances.

Reason for this entry: Avoid overstating the meaning of indicators readily available in the short term.

Completion checklist

☑ Checked: Every indicator has a definition of what to measure and how
☐ Not checked: SMART criteria are met, particularly measurability and a deadline
☑ Checked: Necessary information types are selected and reasons for exclusions recorded
☑ Checked: Baseline collection is planned
☐ Not checked: Targets have supporting grounds, such as similar programs or literature
☐ Not checked: The number of indicators fits evaluation purpose and collection burden

Common errors in judgment

Dividing the actual number applying by the total number of counseling contacts

How to revise: Use the same participant unit for numerator and denominator

Reason: Different treatment of duplicates changes the meaning of the proportion.

Setting the baseline to 0 because no first measurement exists

How to revise: Record it as unmeasured and set the initial collection date

Reason: An observed value of 0 and missing data are different.

Editorial and checking information

Content updated: 2026-10-07Source checked: 2026-09-13 (includes AI cross-checking)No documented human reviewIncludes fictional examplesEditorial policy and scope of checking Cite this page Report a correction

References and checked sections

Rainbow Framework / Communication for Development guidance
BetterEvaluation
Section consulted
C4D: Use measures, indicators or metrics, pp. 103–105
How it relates to the text
Record indicator definitions, measurement methods, collection frequency, numerators and denominators where needed, and limitations; pilot and revise them.
Source checked: 2026-09-13 (includes AI cross-checking)

How to cite this page

EvalCompass Editorial Team. “Indicator design worksheet”. EvalCompass, updated 2026-10-07. https://evalcompass.jun-nakatani.com/en/worksheets/indicator-design/

Add the date you accessed the page. Text created by this site is available under CC BY 4.0. Quotations, external materials, and bundled fonts have their own terms of use. When reusing content, credit the source, link to the license, and indicate any changes.

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Change history

2026-09-13 — Updated explanations to match sources and added method-specific fictional completed examples, judgment examples and a change log. Revised the completion condition on indicator numbers to assess purpose and collection burden consistently with the fictional example. Rechecked correspondence between completed examples and completion checks, and conditional procedures. Aligned SMART check status with undecided targets and feasibility.
2026-10-07 — Made minimal corrections to categorical claims, fixed conditions or inconsistencies between the worksheet and examples based on content check FW-05. Preserved field numbers, order, labels and section structure. Did not change the verification status of unchecked materials.