GAO Report Could Help U.S. Assess its Progress

A new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report sets forth options for Congress to consider in establishing a system of key national indicators.

At a base level, GAO envisions an independent, web-based comprehensive key national indicator system with the nation's best quality data. Such a system, the agency states, would allow the public, media, policymakers, government, and non-government institutions to better understand and assess the position and progress of the U.S., both on an absolute basis as well as compared to other nations. The system would cover traditional areas of American life and public debate such as the economy, society and culture, and the environment. It also would eventually include information on more complex topics such as socio-economic mobility, opportunity, competitiveness, equity or sustainability.

In its report (GAO-05-1), GAO finds that a number of indicator systems already exist from local to national levels, attempting to measure how the U.S. is really doing and compared to what. A clearinghouse of these key indicator systems can be found at http://www.keyindicators.org.

A broad consortium of over 200 leading institutions and individuals from across the country - led by the National Academies and coordinating with governmental entities - is working to produce a test version of the system to be released in the next year.

The GAO's 246-page report, Informing Our Nation: Improving How to Understand and Assess the USA's Position and Progress, is available at: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-1