The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council’s 140-page study on the post-38-Studios future of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation has drawn mixed reviews, and even its supporters would agree the policy-heavy tome isn’t exactly a beach read.

Yet as both Lou Mazzucchelli and Karl Wadensten pointed out on Executive Suite, the study has its merits. And one of the best parts is actually a chart tucked away on page 40.

One of the EDC’s problems as an agency is that it’s never clear exactly how success should be measured. Is it job growth? Total startups? Net business migration? Income growth? State GDP? Something else? The lack of metrics makes it hard to judge whether the EDC is accomplishing anything.

It doesn’t have to be this way. RIPEC reports that Michigan and Utah “outline their performance metrics in their annual economic development organization report.” (EDC doesn’t do one of those.) As the table below indicates, “for each state economic development strategic initiative … Michigan lists measurable outcomes used to track performance on initiatives.” Take a look: