What does SMART mean for an indicator?
SMART is a checklist. Each letter is a test the indicator must pass.
- Specific: it says exactly what is counted, for whom and where.
- Measurable: you can get a number or a clear rating from real data.
- Achievable: your team can collect it with the staff, time and budget you have.
- Relevant: it tells you about a result that matters to the project.
- Time-bound: it states when it is measured or by when a target is met.
Some teams swap a word, for example “attributable” for “achievable”. The point is the same: test the indicator before you commit to it.
How do you choose indicators in practice?
Work through these steps for each result in your results framework.
- Write the result in plain words. “Families in the camp have safe water close to home.”
- Ask what change you would see. More people using a safe source. Shorter walking time. Fewer reports of illness.
- List two or three candidate indicators. Do not stop at the first one.
- Run the SMART test on each. Drop the ones that fail and cannot be fixed.
- Check the data source. Is there an attendance sheet, a survey, a registry or a partner report that will give you the number?
- Pick the smallest set that tells the story.
What does a weak indicator look like next to a strong one?
| Weak | Problem | Stronger version |
|---|---|---|
| Improved access to water | Not specific, no unit | Percent of surveyed households collecting drinking water from a protected source within 30 minutes round trip |
| Number of trainings | Counts activity, not change | Number of trained staff who pass the end-of-course test, by quarter |
| Communities are satisfied | Not defined | Percent of survey respondents who rate the service as good or very good, each six months |
Notice how each stronger version names a unit, a group, a threshold and a time frame. Words like “improved”, “increased” and “strengthened” belong in the result, not in the indicator.
Which traps catch most teams?
- Too many indicators. Every one needs a definition, a collection plan and a person to check it. A list of forty will not be collected well.
- Counting activities only. “Meetings held” shows effort. It does not show whether anything changed. See our article on output, outcome and impact indicators.
- No data source. If you cannot say where the number comes from, the indicator is a wish.
- Hidden double counting. A person who attends three sessions may be counted three times. Decide the counting rule up front. The article on reach totals explains why this matters.
- Ignoring context. An indicator that needs a household survey is hard to collect in a place where staff cannot travel.
How do SMART indicators relate to donor requirements?
Many donors give a list of required indicators. Use them as written, then check each against the SMART test. If an indicator is vague, write a definition that fits the donor’s intent and share it. Keep your own indicators for what your team needs to manage the work. Donor reporting is one use of the data, not the only one.
Laws and donor rules differ, so read each agreement for any mandatory wording.
What should you do before you finalize the list?
Run a short review with the people who will collect the data.
- Can the field officer explain each indicator in one sentence?
- Does each have a named source and a named collector?
- Is the total workload realistic?
- Is there a baseline, or a plan to get one? See how to set baselines and targets.
Change what fails the review. A short list that people understand is worth more than a long list that looks complete.
A last tip is to test indicators in the field before you lock them. Take the draft list to two or three enumerators and ask them to try each one on a small sample, such as ten households. Note where they hesitate, where the definition is unclear and how long the work takes. A day of testing often shows that an indicator needs a clearer word, a smaller group, or a simpler source. It is far cheaper to change the wording now than to explain inconsistent data after a year of collection. Keep a note of what you changed and why, and add it to the reference sheet.
Where EMPOBase fits
EMPOBase has a library of 235 indicators in 8 sectors, with definitions, means of verification and disaggregation guidance you can adapt as a starting point. Review each entry against your donor’s wording; inclusion in the library is not a certification of compliance. The indicators page shows how the library is organized. EMPOBase will not tell you which indicators are right for your project: that choice is yours, and the SMART test above is a good way to make it.