When Sustainable Seattle produced its 'Indicators of Sustainable Community' in the 1990s, the work was ground-breaking because of its participatory nature and the fact that linkages allowed the reader to understand the connection between ecology, economy and community. In the days that followed the 1992 Rio Conference, sustainability was a relatively new concept. Information to empower the public was not easily accessible and rarely presented in a holistic manner. Today, information is plentiful and the challenge has become to present this information in a way that is accessible, meaningful and actionable. To meet this challenge, Sustainable Seattle set up to build on the efforts of citizen groups and government agencies to create a new generation of community sustainability indicators, bringing these efforts together into a single networked system. We call this information system the B-Sustainable Information Network.

History

Steering Committee

In December 2004, Sustainable Seattle convened a group of 24 Steering Committee Members representing the diverse interests and areas within the Central Puget Sound region.  The Steering Committee developed the principles and criteria and oversees the process of developing a set of indicators to support the development of strategies for action to move the region toward a more sustainable future. 

Civic forums

On April 30, 2005, a group of about 100 civic leaders met at Town Hall in Seattle to discuss assets and concerns for the region.  The daylong Saturday meeting allowed plenty of time for the participants to get into conversations about the needs and priorities for the region.  A preliminary list of indicators was prioritized.

Upon reviewing attendance at the April 30 forum, several mini-panels were added to make sure that the project reflects the wide diversity of views and priorities of the region.

• A People of Color Summit  was co-sponsored by Steering Committee member Yalonda Cinde on September 24, 2005;

• A Business mini-panel was organized downtown Seattle by Steering Committee member Callie Ridolfi on October 26;

• Callie Ridolfi and students from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute are organizing a lunch panel at Yesler Terrace on November 15.

The civic leaders provided the vision and priorities that became the basis for the indicator framework.

Technical Advisors Panel

In January 2006, a Technical Advisor Panel, made up of 8 members representing different knowledge areas within the indicator field and led by Dr. Viki Sonntag, was convened and met several times with the aim to develop an indicators framework that integrates the input collected through the citizens’ panels and that informs a systemic approach to the region’s sustainable development.  They integrated the priorities form the civic forums into a set of 24 sustainability goals and provided the basis for the technical framework.  They completed their work in June 2006.

Indicator Mapping Workshops

Twelve workshops were convened to match indicators to goals.  Each workshop was organized around 1 or 2 goals and invited a group of 10-15 experts and community leaders to review existing information available for each topic and select indicators that best showed status, cause and impact. 

Technical Development

The Web Collective was contracted to turn the vision of the Steering Committee and the Technical Advisors into technical reality.   Phase I, a fully functional open source version of B-Sustainable, was completed on January 10, 2008.  Phase II is on-going.

Content Development

The website is being populated through a large partnership of contributors.

• The goals are written by Sustainable Seattle staff and volunteers
• The indicator data is provided by key data providers in the region who have committed through an MOU to provide accurate and timely data on a set of indicators;
• The strategies and action steps are provided by knowledgeable organizations and citizens throughout the region.

Background

There are two general approaches to developing indicators for whole populations (e.g., cities, states, or nations).   One approach relies on experts to determine the appropriate indicator for measuring a trend.  The other relies on a grass roots approach and is tied to participants’ values.  Many programs use a combination of citizen involvement combined with advice from technical experts. In the B-Sustainable model, citizen values and needs drive the process but scientific data and methods provide the foundation for indicators so that the selected metrics are understandable and valid. The process is iterative, with information moving among and being discussed by: 1) the general public, 2) a group of civic leaders, and 3) a group of technical advisors.

Several researchers from the academic community believe that the process of developing and selecting indicators is at least as important as publishing them.  For example, Innes and Booher believe that “the process of debating the design of indicators shapes the players’ thinking about the policies. Agreement on indicators helps get agreement on policy. The production and discussion of indicators in an agency or in the public arena focuses organizational and political attention on the issues they represent and gives them legitimacy. Their use can change the terms of public discourse over the long term ”. 

Innes also believes that if “an indicator is to be useful, it must be clearly associated with a policy or set of possible actions. There will never be agreement on an indicator unless there is agreement on policy. The indicator does not lead to the policy, but agreement on policy can be advanced by discussion of how to design suitable indicators.  The ideal method may be to develop the policy in the process of developing the indicator.”

A participatory process has the added advantage of creating shared values and understanding among people who are working together through the process.  Robert Putnam  in his book “Bowling Alone” blames the lack of opportunities for people to interact with one another through social and political mechanisms for many key modern problems, such as the tragedy of the commons and NIMBYism.  Kent E. Portney  sees the opportunity for cities to redress this problem by creating initiatives that are designed to engage residents and build a shared understanding and vision of the city and its environment.

“Indicators a society chooses to report to itself about itself are surprisingly powerful.  They reflect collective values and inform collective decisions.  A nation that keeps a watchful eye on its salmon runs or the safety of its streets makes different choices than does a nation that is only paying attention to its GNP.  The idea of citizens choosing their own indicators is something new under the sun – something intensely democratic. ”