Composite indicators are powerful practical tools that can help policy makers summarise complex and interdependent phenomena. They provide the big picture, are easy to interpret, easy to communicate, and attractive for the public. They are also drivers of behaviour and of change by forcing institutions and governments to question their standards.

On the other hand, caution is needed to avoid situations where composite indicators may send misleading or partial policy messages because they are poorly constructed or misinterpreted.

The COIN Tool aims to provide a powerful yet accessible platform for developers to construct, analyse and adjust their composite indicator. Users can follow a series of simple steps which help to build and visualise a composite indicator, to analyse relationships between indicators, test variations in methodology and check the robustness to certain assumptions.

This can help to build high-quality composite indicators that are methodologically sound and legitimate to end users.
The COIN Tool is deliberately constructed in Excel, and although this places some limitations on what can be done, it ensures that it is accessible to the widest range of users.