1. Key National Indicators: Draft Guide and New GAO Study Bernice Steinhardt Director, Strategic Issues U.S. Government Accountability Office INTOSAI Working Group on Key National Indicators Astana, Kazakhstan April 7-8, 2010

2. 2 Background Working Group workplan assigned GAO with creating a glossary of KNI terms Collaborative effort of GAO and OECD Produced draft Guide to Terms and Concepts presented at 2009 Working Group meeting posted at www.intosai4kni.orgwww.intosai4kni.org Received and incorporated comments on draft

3. 3 Overview of Guide What is Measured? Progress, well-being, sustainable development What Are Indicators? Key national indicators, input/output/outcome indicators, composite indicators Dimensions and domains Performance measures: reliability, validity What Are Indicator Systems? Topical indicator systems, comprehensive key indicator systems, selection of indicators What Is Data Quality? Attributes of “Fitness for Use” Validation and verification

4. 4 Changes to Draft Guide Added examples Clarified that draft guide refers to key national indicators rather than indicators alone Added section: What Role Can SAIs Play in the Development, Assessment and Use of Key National Indicator Systems? Assessment of reliability and relevance of data KNIs as basis for auditing government performance Caution against involvement in selection of indicators

5. 5 Next Steps Terms and Concepts being added to INTOSAI Glossary of Auditing Terms Add section on Principles, suggested by Rolf-Elm Larsen/Denmark NAO? Adopt as final?

6. 6 Recent KNI Developments in the U.S. Legislation signed by President on March 23 authorized creation of a key national indicator system for the U.S. System to be administered either by: (a) National Academy of Sciences, or (b) private nonprofit organization. Responsible for: Identifying and selecting issue areas, measures covered by KNIs Maintaining website with access to KNIs Developing quality assurance framework for selecting data National Academy to make recommendations to the Congress within the year.

7. 7 GAO Review of Key National Indicator Systems Legislation also directed GAO to study best practices for a KNI system, based on a review of experiences in other jurisdictions, including other nations. GAO study already begun at request of Chairman of Senate Subcommittee on Financial Management and Government Information Recognized that development of KNI system in the U.S. would help to set objectives, measure progress, assess conditions and trends, and communicate more effectively on complex issues. Would also help inform strategic planning, enhance performance and accountability reporting, and provide for more effective legislative activities.

8. 8 Key Objectives of GAO Study Examine the experiences of selected governments (state/local, other national) and supranational organizations in developing key, outcome-based indicator systems Identify how the experiences of selected governments in using indicator systems has influenced government planning and management and how they have measured progress toward key goals and outcomes Assess the implications of the selected governments' experiences for how a set of key national indicators might be used by the U.S. government

9. 9 GAO Study and KNI Working Group 2009 survey and report: International Experience in Development and Use of Key National Indicators Prepared by State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia Useful source of leads for GAO study Would welcome contacts in national governments, other information GAO study can be a further resource for Working Group