Integrated monitoring of sustainable development

Indicators by themselves tell us little about how well a system is doing in relation to the goal of sustainability. The real challenge is not to identify indicators-there are hundreds of good lists-but to seek out the best way to put all of them to work. The INSURE project, carried out in four case study regions in Europe among which was the Limburg region of the Netherlands, attempted to develop an adaptive indicator framework for integrated monitoring of sustainable development. During the project, it became clear that indicators are not only more meaningful when seen within the whole system, but also that science and policy have different, but complementary, roles to play.