Recent literature on indicators as technology of global governance has shown the power of numbers in shaping knowledge and policy priorities. But not all indicators have powerful effects; some remain invisible. Are such indicators an obverse of powerful indicators? Are the same process of indirect exercise of power to indirectly achieve social and economic effects at work? This paper explores the case of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 3.d.1 for the target to build national capacity for pandemic preparedness (target 3d) as a case study of invisible indicators. This indicator has had little traction, despite its relevance in the context of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The paper explores the reasons that explain this paradox through the framework of epistemic infrastructures. It argues that the indicator—the State Party Self-Assessment Report (SPAR) score—was an inconvenient tool for the powerful actors in the global health community as it turned out to be an extremely poor predictor of COVID-19 response performance. It would have exposed not only the failings of the powerful countries that lead the policy agenda for pandemic preparedness but also the legitimacy of their expertise and the paradigm of global health security as an approach to governing health risks. The analysis highlights the tight relationship between power and the use of indicators in global governance. While indicators are increasingly used by powerful actors to reframe policy narratives, the indicator of pandemic preparedness has been kept invisible to maintain their existing framing. It thus illustrates the resilience of power structures in epistemic infrastructures.

中文翻译：

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当指标失败时：SPAR，大流行防范的无形措施

最近关于指标作为全球治理技术的文献显示了数字在塑造知识和政策优先事项方面的力量。但并非所有指标都有强大的效果；有些仍然看不见。这些指标是否与强大的指标相反？间接行使权力以在工作中间接实现社会和经济效果的过程是否相同？本文探讨了可持续发展目标 (SDG) 指标 3.d.1 的案例，作为无形指标的案例研究，旨在建设国家大流行防范能力（目标 3d）。尽管该指标在 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行的背景下具有相关性，但其吸引力不大。本文通过认知基础设施的框架探讨了解释这一悖论的原因。它认为，该指标——缔约国自我评估报告 (SPAR) 得分——对于全球卫生界的强大参与者来说是一个不方便的工具，因为它被证明是 COVID-19 反应性能的极差预测指标。它不仅会暴露出领导大流行防范政策议程的强国的失败，而且还会暴露出它们的专业知识的合法性以及将全球卫生安全作为管理健康风险的方法的范式。该分析强调了权力与全球治理指标使用之间的紧密关系。尽管强大的行为者越来越多地使用指标来重新构建政策叙述，但为了维持其现有框架，大流行防范指标一直处于不可见状态。