Indicators Reports

The uncertainties and controversies brought about by the 1993 closure of the Alaska Pulp Corporation mill prompted the Institute to bring Sitkans together to compile reliable information in the form of community indicators. The result was the 1999 publication of Sitka Community Indicators: A Profile of Community Well-Being, published in partnership with Sitka’s Turning Point Toward Health. The report tracked social, economic and ecological trends in Sitka, was widely distributed and used in the community, and hailed as a model for communities elsewhere in Alaska and around the country.

A second updated edition was published in 2002. The indicator reports helped Sitkans measure the assets important to our community and use the findings to influence policy decisions.

To read either report, choose one of the images below.

Economist Gregg Erickson said of the first report:

“It is a remarkable example of what can be done to focus attention and sharpen insights using traditional and not-so-traditional indicators of economic development.  Economic growth and economic development are two quite different things. People unfortunately confuse the two. Development always hurts some and helps others, but good development means improvement for individuals and households on the whole. Economic growth, on the other hand, is no gain if, on the whole, it leaves people less well off. Indicators, by its choice of data and presentation, has contributed to an understanding of this point.”