This practical guide explores how to develop and use indicators in collaborative, multi-actor settings. Indicators are widely used across environmental management, climate adaptation, community development, and policy, but in practice they are often difficult to use well. They can become overly technical, disconnected from decision-making, or reduced to reporting requirements that add little value.
The guide focuses on how indicators are developed and used in real-world, place-based settings, particularly where multiple actors, perspectives, and knowledge systems are involved. Drawing on systems thinking, evaluation, and collaborative practice, it outlines practical approaches that support shared understanding, reflection, and decision-making.
At a glance: This guide supports practitioners working in place-based, collaborative and multi-actor initiatives where change is difficult to measure through simple metrics alone.
Download the guide (
PDF, Version 1.1, April 2026)
What this guide covers
At the centre of the guide is a six-step process for developing and using indicators:
- Clarify purpose, scope and scale
- Involve the right people
- Develop a shared understanding of the system
- Identify possible indicators
- Select a small set of useful indicators
- Use indicators to support monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management
The guide also explores:
- how indicators relate to programme design and system understanding
- the role of conceptual frameworks (e.g. logic models, DPSIR)
- using rubrics and structured judgement alongside indicators
- working across different knowledge systems and perspectives
- practical challenges such as data gaps, competing priorities, and institutional constraints
It includes simple tools and templates to support use in practice.
Who this is for
This guide is intended for people working in collaborative, place-based settings, including:
- programme managers and policy staff
- evaluators and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) practitioners
- facilitators and advisors supporting multi-actor processes
- applied researchers and practitioners working in environmental and sustainability contexts
It is most useful where indicators need to support shared understanding, reflection, decision-making and adaptation, rather than simply reporting.
How it can be used
The guide can be used in a range of situations, for example:
- designing indicators for a new initiative
- reviewing or refining an existing set of indicators
- interpreting indicators drawn from larger monitoring systems
- supporting workshops or discussions with partners
In practice, the process is iterative. Teams often move back and forth between steps as understanding develops.
Related pages on this site
- Developing indicators and metrics – practical guidance on designing and using indicator systems
- Indicators and monitoring resources – curated approaches, frameworks, and tools for indicator development
- Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) – working with evaluation and learning in complex settings
- Theory of change – linking activities, outcomes, and indicators within a shared framework
These pages provide additional curated and annotated links, tools and examples that complement the approach outlined in this guide.
A note on use
This guide is part of the Learning for Sustainability website, which curates resources and reflections on systems thinking, evaluation, collaboration, and working in complex settings.
If this is relevant to your work and you would like to explore how it might apply in your context, you are welcome to get in touch.