Dashboard

The Appalachian Center is in the process of developing an Appalachian Community Dashboard that will provide a consistent, yearly summary of relevant data and indicators for the Appalachian region.    

Typically, indicators are one-dimensional, measuring environmental, economic, or social progress in separate spheres while ignoring the impact one sphere has on another.  For our purposes, we have chosen to develop sustainability indicators, which focus on long-term progress and consequences of action, as well as on the connections between economy, environment, social equity, and civic engagement.  This provides a more holistic view of the region’s progress toward sustainability.  (For specific examples of the difference between traditional indicators and sustainable indicators, please click here.)

With our faculty partners from the departments of Economics and Agricultural Economics and our community partners, we are creating the model process for developing economic sustainability indicators.  The Center will develop and test protocols for community engagement, participatory development of the indicators, and web-based presentation. Once the economy indicators are developed, we will apply the same process to the remaining sustainability indicator areas, at which time we will continue to draw on the expertise and experiences of regional partners.

The Dashboard builds on the earlier Center Appalachian Data Bank program and will utilize GIS and spatial analysis in interpretation and presentation of the data.

Partners:
We are excited and proud to introduce our partnerships for this program:

David Freshwater, Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Director of Graduate Studies

William Hoyt, Professor in the Department of Economics and Director of Graduate Studies

Julie Zimmerman, Associate Professor in the Department of Community and Leadership Development

 

What is a dashboard?
A dashboard is a mechanism used to track changes or key trends within an area of business or community.  It is a way to provide visual, at-a-glance displays of data (maps, graphs, pie charts, etc.)

Who uses dashboards?
Dashboards are most often used by business managers to gauge the effectiveness of business strategies, measuring outcomes in order to craft better future corporate strategies. 

Community dashboards, however, are meant to be used by everyone.  If the dashboard is successful, it provides visual representation of data that is easily understood by policy makers, elected officials, business and social sector leaders, and the general public.
This will ultimately bring the needs and challenges of the region to the attention of state-level researchers, planners, and policy makers and hopefully help them steer the region toward a more sustainable future.