Summary
The Plan for Progress Performance Indicators are a set of quantitative benchmarks that assist in identifying economic trends and measuring progress towards the goals of the Pioneer Valley Plan for Progress. In order to provide a highly objective, measurable method of accountability, this quantitative system complements the qualitative assessments discussed above. The system does not attempt to evaluate current year statistics in isolation (e.g. judging whether a specific unemployment rate is “good” or “bad”), but rather looks at changes over time and the general trend, indicating whether a situation is improving or not (e.g. observing whether the unemployment rate is increasing or decreasing).
Rating Scale
Each indicator was assigned a rating of desirable, undesirable, or neutral, based on the most recent annual trend in the data available. Once benchmark data was collected for the most recent year available, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) staff calculated percentage changes from one year prior (or the most recent previous year possible if prior year data is not available). An improvement of at least one percent is considered a desirable trend, while a decline of at least one percent is considered an undesirable trend. Between one percent improvement and a one percent decline is considered a neutral trend.
| Desirable Trend: | More than a 1% change in a desirable direction |
| Neutral Trend: | Less than a 1% change in any direction. |
| Undesirable Trend: | More than a 1% change in an undesirable direction |
Regional Geography
Because the Plan for Progress was completed in conjunction with our neighbors to the north in Franklin County, ratings for each indicator represent the current trend in the given indicator for the greater Pioneer Valley which includes Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties.
Goal Dashboards
Click on the links below to access dashboards for each Plan for Progress goal. The dashboards visualize quantitative data in order to communicate a snapshot of indicator trends.