Indicators Conferences

New this week to the blog is a list of conferences dealing with indicators. The list is necessarily incomplete (with a number of exciting conferences happening at exactly the same times in June and October). One difficulty I had in trying to compile the list is that indicators are critical components of community change strategies in a number of different fields, and so a conference about improving health or rural development or social issues with a strong indicators focus seems to be as interesting as a conference focused solely on using or displaying data.

I'm not sure what the criteria should be for inclusion in the list, except that the conferences strike me as interesting. (I included a conference on sustainable development indicators in mining because (1) it was being held in Greece, which I'd love to visit and (2) it just looked fun.)

For those of use involved in technology and data, conferences may seem anachronistic -- why do we need face-to-face time when the web allows for simulcast streaming of sessions and interactive participation? The OECD World Forum has a Virtual Participation section, after all, which I hope you're planning on joining in evven if you can't make it to Istanbul this month. (Details here: "The OECD project "Measuring the Progress of Societies" seeks to create a global community who come together both virtually and at meetings, to learn from one another about how best to define, measure and achieve societal progress. It is possible to attend preparatory meeting and technical workshops and to submit a document for discussion through the OECD World Forum knowledge base.")

So why do you attend conferences? What conferences do you attend? Which conferences should I be including in the list? Drop me a line and let me know.