Why was a revision necessary?
Experience gathered since the MONET indicator system went online in 2003, as well as a user survey in 2007, have confirmed that the system is very reliable and meets a real need. Nevertheless, some elements were in need of improvement: For example, the system was difficult to read as it was too large; some indicators lacked relevance; there were gaps in the system and international comparability was limited.
Objectives of the revision
The system revision project which took place from September 2007 to June 2009 had the following objectives:
- reduce the size of the system
- increase its relevance
- fill in gaps
- optimise international comparability
As they are deemed to be very reliable, the structural elements of the system, such as the principles of sustainable development and the typology of indicators, have not been revised.
Procedure
The system was analysed and the indicators were tested by means of a series of selection criteria. These dealt with the use of indicators in reports and analyses, on their presence in the Federal Council’s Sustainable Development Strategy 2008 - 2011 
as well as on the possibilities for international comparison.
The results of this analysis were discussed, commented on and completed by several workgroups made up of FSO representatives from the domains involved as well as from other federal offices active in the area of sustainable development.
The new MONET system
The list of themes, gateway to the system, has also been revised in order to simplify the reduction in the system’s size and to make it easier to read.
The twelve new themes which replace the 26 previous ones are more in line with the themes of the European Union’s sustainable development indicators system .
The revised system now has 80 indicators (instead of 130), twelve of which are new, structured according to the new themes. The complete set of MONET indicators is available in German or French.