How to Use This Bank
These are starting points, not requirements. An indicator that works well for a health system program can fit a community nutrition project poorly. Always adapt the wording, the disaggregation and the frequency to your program, your donor and your theory of change before you use one.
This page is a short sample. The full indicator library is larger, searchable and sorted by sector, and each sector page there lets you filter and build a plan. Use this page when you want a quick, readable shortlist with notes on how each indicator is usually measured.
Many of these indicators follow or align with international frameworks, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), World Health Organization (WHO) standards, the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for water and sanitation, and the former USAID standard indicators. Where a donor requires a standard indicator, use the donor's wording exactly and treat the ones here as additions.
Terms used in the tables:
- Output: what the program delivers directly, such as people trained or water points built.
- Outcome: a change in people, practices or services that the outputs are meant to bring about. A longer results chain may split outcomes into Immediate Outcomes and Outcomes.
- Data source: where the number comes from, such as program records, a household survey or a facility check.
- Disaggregation: splitting a result by group, such as sex, age or location. See disaggregation.
Six Steps for Choosing from the Bank
| Step | What to Do |
|---|---|
| 1. Check your theory of change | Decide which results level you are measuring. The bank covers Output and Outcome only; each indicator starts with its level |
| 2. Filter by sector | Start with your main sector. Add cross-cutting indicators, but do not let them replace sector ones |
| 3. Ask what you would do with the number | If the result would not change a program decision, leave the indicator out |
| 4. Check feasibility | Can you collect it within your budget and staff capacity? Surveys that measure height and weight are costly |
| 5. Adapt the definition | Change the wording, disaggregation and frequency to fit your context |
| 6. Check donor alignment | Add your own indicators next to any mandatory donor indicators, never in place of them |
For the wider method, see indicator selection. To document each chosen indicator in full, use an indicator reference sheet.
Health and Nutrition
Aligned with SDG 2 and 3 and with WHO and UNICEF standards. More in the health and nutrition sections of the library.
| Indicator | Data Source | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Output: Number of community health workers (CHWs) trained in nutrition counseling who score 80% or more on a practical competency check | Training records, post-test results | After each training |
| Output: Number of children 6 to 59 months screened for acute malnutrition with a MUAC tape (mid-upper arm circumference) | Program records, CHW registers | Monthly |
| Output: Number of communities with a working CHW supervision system (monthly supervisor visit plus a data review meeting) | Supervision records, meeting minutes | Quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of pregnant women with four or more antenatal care (ANC) visits (surveys still report this; WHO now recommends eight contacts, so use eight if your donor does) | Household survey, health management information system (HMIS) | Annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of caregivers of children 6 to 23 months giving a minimum acceptable diet (MAD: at least 5 of 8 food groups, enough meals and, for non-breastfed children, milk feeds). Use minimum dietary diversity (MDD, the 5-of-8 food groups part alone) if you do not collect meal frequency | Household survey | Annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of children admitted for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) who recover | Clinic and program records | Monthly, reported quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of households meeting the program's target on the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS, a count of food groups eaten in the past 24 hours) | Household survey | Annual |
What to watch: Define "working" before you count. For the supervision indicator, require all three: a visit happened, data was discussed and action points were recorded. Track recovery, defaulting and death rates separately for SAM, not only recovery.
Education
Aligned with SDG 4 and with UNICEF and Education Cluster standards. More in the education section of the library.
| Indicator | Data Source | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Output: Number of teachers trained in learner-centered methods who show the skill in a classroom observation | Training records, observation checklists | After each training |
| Output: Number of functional latrines built or repaired in target schools (separate for girls and boys, lockable, with water nearby) | Facility assessment | Baseline, then annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of enrolled pupils who complete primary school | School registers, cohort tracking | Annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of Grade 3 pupils reaching minimum reading proficiency on the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) | EGRA assessment | Annual |
| Outcome: Teacher attendance rate, checked by unannounced visits | Unannounced spot checks | Monthly or quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of students who report feeling safe at school | Anonymous student survey | Annual |
What to watch: Classroom observation tells you more than a written test. Head teacher attendance records tend to overstate how often teachers are present, so verify them with unannounced visits. Anonymity matters for safety questions.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Aligned with SDG 6 and with JMP definitions. More in the WASH section of the library.
| Indicator | Data Source | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Output: Number of water points built, repaired or maintained that are working (water flows and meets the quality standard) | Construction records, functionality checks | Monthly or quarterly |
| Output: Number of households gaining access to at least basic sanitation (an improved latrine not shared with other households) | Household survey, community mapping | Baseline, then annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of households with at least a basic drinking water service (an improved source within a 30 minute round trip; safely managed is the higher level) | Household survey | Annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of households with a working handwashing place with water and soap at the point of use | Structured observation | Annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of water points with no E. coli detected in a 100 ml sample | Water quality testing | Quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of water user committees collecting fees and keeping a maintenance reserve | Committee financial records, interviews | Quarterly |
What to watch: The most common WASH measurement failure is counting water points built instead of water points working. Pair every output indicator with an outcome indicator, so you can see whether access turns into use. Observe handwashing facilities rather than relying on what people say.
Governance and Civic Participation
Aligned with SDG 16 and with UNDP and Sida results indicators. More in the governance section of the library.
| Indicator | Data Source | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Output: Number of civil society organizations (CSOs) given organizational capacity support | Program and grant records | Quarterly |
| Output: Number of public hearings or community consultations where citizens give direct input to a decision | Program and meeting records | Quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of community members aware of their rights to public services and of how to make a complaint | Household survey | Annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of formal complaints that get a substantive response within 30 days | Complaint system records | Quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of women in decision-making roles in community governance bodies | Official records, survey checks | Annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of local government budgets published in plain language where citizens can find them | Document review, community check | Annual |
What to watch: Governance indicators are open to social desirability bias, meaning people answer as they think they should. Asking "Is your local government accountable?" gets inflated answers. Use scenario questions and compare perception data with records. A count of hearings is not enough alone: also record whether citizen input was written down and acted on.
Livelihoods and Food Security
Aligned with SDG 1 and 2 and with World Food Programme (WFP) and FAO standards. More in the livelihoods and food security sections of the library.
| Indicator | Data Source | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Output: Number of farming households receiving improved seed and a matching input package | Distribution records | Quarterly |
| Output: Number of savings and credit groups established and working (meeting at least monthly, keeping written records) | Group registers, meeting records | Quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of farming households using at least three improved practices on their main food crop | Household survey, field observation | Annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of households with an acceptable Food Consumption Score (FCS, a 7-day count of foods eaten, weighted by food group, using the WFP cutoffs for your setting) | Household survey | Quarterly or annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of households with little or no hunger on the Household Hunger Scale (HHS, three questions) | Household survey | Quarterly or annual |
| Outcome: Percentage of smallholder farmers selling through formal markets or marketing groups | Household survey, trader records | Annual |
What to watch: Food consumption scores change with the season, so measure in the same season each year. Verify seed quality and track inputs received separately from inputs used. For practices, observe the field in the growing season where you can, because self-report tends to overstate adoption.
Cross-Cutting Themes
Aligned with SDG 5 and 10 and with the Washington Group standards for disability data. More in the gender and social inclusion section of the library.
| Indicator | Data Source | How Often |
|---|---|---|
| Output: Number of gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response mechanisms set up or strengthened | Program records, interviews | Quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of women in formal leadership roles in program-supported groups | Official and program records | Annual |
| Output: Percentage of program materials and activities adapted for people with disabilities | Document review, participant feedback | Annual |
| Output: Share of participants with disabilities compared with local prevalence | Registration and program records | Quarterly or annual |
| Output: Share of participants from marginalized groups compared with their share of the target population | Registration records, census or survey data | Quarterly |
| Outcome: Percentage of feedback and complaint channels that women, youth, people with disabilities and non-literate people can use | Design documents, user testing | Baseline, then annual |
What to watch: Count formal authority (chair, secretary, treasurer), not attendance. For GBV mechanisms, track whether a mechanism is used and how many referrals are completed, not just whether it exists. Test complaint channels with the people they are meant for.
Common Mistakes When Using a Sample Bank
- Copying without adapting. An indicator's definition, threshold and frequency came from one context. Check each against yours.
- Choosing too many. A short list that you can actually collect beats a long list that you cannot. See data collection burden.
- Measuring only outputs. Pair each output with an outcome indicator that shows whether the delivery made a difference.
- Dropping the definition. Write down exactly what counts, as in "working" or "trained", before the first data collection round.
- Ignoring feasibility. Indicators that need height and weight measurement, or national survey data, take real budget and trained staff.
- Mixing up levels. An indicator is an Output or an Outcome by what it measures, not by how easy it is to collect.
Related Reading
- Indicator selection: the full method for choosing a balanced set.
- SMART indicators: a test for well-formed indicators.
- Custom vs. standard indicators: when to use donor wording and when to write your own.
- Output indicators and outcome indicators: how the two levels differ.
- Indicator reference sheet: how to document each chosen indicator.
Last updated October 18, 20263 sources checked
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