Discussant session 1.8
- The Report of the Expert Group “ERA Indicators and ERA Monitoring” provides the basis for discussion in this session. This expert group has had a challenging task, not only because the question of suitable indicators to measure progress in ERA is a new task, but also because the concept of ERA is not straightforward. ERA is at the same time a tool to promote the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy and related objectives and part of the Lisbon achievements. Overall, the Group has succeeded quite well in its task.
- The Group has solved the dilemma concerning the many meanings of the term ERA by separating policy actions promoting ERA, indicators of the progress of ERA, and the effects of ERA, which are again part of the knowledge society objectives of the Lisbon strategy. This solution does not fully work because it entails overlapping indicators and thus a duplication or triplication of the use of a given indicator, which is not conducive to clarity. Furthermore, the difference between and contexts of use of the Lisbon-oriented indicators, the ERA Headline indicators, and the comprehensive set of indicators is not clear.
- The Expert Group has made a basic choice in suggesting only one indicator per assumed underlying dimension or question. The aim is certainly a wish to provide for a smaller and simpler set of indicators. Another principle has been to suggest indicators for which data are available or in the process of being developed, and thus, available in the near future. Both principles are by themselves positive. There is, however, a difficulty especially with regard to new phenomena of which we do not have widely accepted understandings; thus to assume that just one indicator catches the dimension to be measured in a reliable and sufficient way is not well grounded. In some instances, the expert group suggests additional back-ups but presumably just in case the originally suggested indicator will not be available. I would like to highlight the accepted wisdom in indicator research that each indicator is only ‘partial’, imperfect, and thus a safer strategy would be to use more than one indicator per dimension. The presentation will mention some examples where this might be especially relevant. The presentation will also comment on individual indicators suggested.
- The Expert Group suggests forums for wide consultation concerning the set of indicators to be accepted for regular use. This is an important principle, since the indicators will shape our understanding of phenomena and affect policies for a long time to come. Even though there is a need for some experimentation at first, monitoring requires a long-term commitment to data collection and comparisons. Experimental use of the suggested and improved indicator set will certainly help in this process by making the potential import of each indicator more transparent.