The Framework: Developed by the SDI Group, the Framework organizes indicators into three major categories: (1) long-term endowments and liabilities, (2) processes that increase or decrease these endowments, and (3) current results. Each of these categories is then divided into subcategories for the economy, the environment, and society.

As noted in the Introduction to Indicators, the work of the PCSD and the SDI Group led to a focus on the social, economic and environmental "endowments" or "capacities" passed on to our children, thus reflecting a concern for the future as well as for the present. In developing livable community indicators, the SDI Group recommends that communities develop indicators that reflect this concern for the future as well as the present and move toward making communities more livable both today and tomorrow. The SDI Group also recommends that communities develop indicators for the full range of topics reflected in sustainability, i.e., the social, environmental and economic aspects of their communities.

As also noted in the Introduction to Indicators, the Framework categories are also believed to apply to indicators for livable communities. A description of the Framework categories follows:

Long-term Endowments and Liabilities are those various assets, resources, and capacities we inherit from our predecessors. These include the natural environment, natural resource base, productive capacity, infrastructure and social institutions. We utilize some of them to meet our own needs and wants, and then pass them on to future generations. Children can also be seen as another kind of endowment--one with very special characteristics--that is provided by each generation to the future. We also inherit a variety of challenges such as hazardous wastes, income disparity, and racial tensions that can carry over from generation to generation.

Processes include (1) the human activities that utilize endowments to yield current goods and services; (2) natural Earth system processes (e.g., hydrological, atmospheric, terrestrial, biological, or chemical); and (3) social, cultural, or political processes. Processes can include things as diverse as manufacturing, atmosphere/ocean interactions, and democratic governing processes. When a process directly affects an endowment, it is called a driving force. This change can be positive or negative. For example, the industrial production of paper is a process that provides paper for consumers and jobs for some workers (current results), while also giving rise to the harvesting of timber and the release of chemicals (driving forces) that could affect the long-term status of forested and aquatic ecosystems (endowments).

Current Results include the goods, services, and conditions that are enjoyed or experienced by present generations. Indicators of current results focus on human well-being today and in the near-term. Many of the indicators with which we are most familiar--such as the gross domestic product, unemployment rates, or crime rates--are indicators of current results.

Linkages Between the Categories: The Framework emphasizes the links between the resources we inherit and utilize to meet today's needs and those that we pass on to future generations. It also encourages us to think about the economy, the environment, and society together, rather than in isolation. By examining a diverse set of indicators together, we can begin to understand the conditions and approaches that will support sustainable development. If we can do a better job of meeting today's needs, while also enhancing the assets and resources we ourselves inherited, then we will be a step closer to designing a path of sustainable development.

The Framework is described more fully in the SDI Report entitled Sustainable Development in the United States, An Experimental Set of Indicators, December, 1998. Additional information on the Framework from the Report:

http://www.sdi.gov/indicators/framework.htm Last Modified: 4/22/02