CONCEPT: Indicators

Indicators: These are any measures, yardsticks, benchmarks, milestones or ‘proxies’ (quantitative and/or qualitative) used to document or represent (to stand for) or measure/'signal' the magnitude or attainment/achievement of an otherwise elusive target (or goal), event, phenomenon, problem or process. 

An indicator is a sign/signal or specification of status along a range of possible status-points -- which are in turn encapsulated in a specific standard or 'basket' of standards. 

Standards are the qualitative targets, goals or ideals pursued, or aspired for, in specific fields of human endeavour (see The Sphere Project, 2004: 28-42)

Diversity

Diversity refers to both the awareness of difference – cultural, racial, ethnic, class, age-related, religious, educational, national origin, physical ability, gender and marital status, among others – and the acknowledgement or acceptance of difference as an inescapable fact of public life in a growing number of countries. The Kenyan constitution itself touts diversity in various areas of public life, such as: appointments to public office, enrollment in institutions of learning and employment. However, the fit between the letter of the law and actual practice (or habit) is the subject of much debate. There is much room for knowledge-based (or informed) implementation strategies. In national settings, diversity is all about democracy-mediated inclusion. On a global scale, it is about emigration and (usually selective) immigration– that is to say, the selective issuing of visas. Diversity, in a world of randomly and thinly distributed arrays of crucial talent, is increasingly seen in influential circles as a source of national strength and competitive advantage.