  A method allowing for a direct comparison of data with theoretical
predictions is proposed for forward jet production at HERA. It avoids the
reconstruction of multi-parton contributions by expressing the experimental
data directly as correction factors on the QCD forward jet cross-section. An
application to the determination of the effective Pomeron intercept in the
BFKL-LO parametrization from dsigma/dx data at HERA leads to a good fit with a
significantly higher effective intercept, alpha_P = 1.43 \pm 0.025(stat.) \pm
>.025(syst.), than for proton (total and diffractive) structure functions. It
is however less than the value of the Pomeron intercept using dijets with large
rapidity intervals obtained at Tevatron. We also evaluate the rapidity veto
contribution to the higher order BFKL corrections. The method can be extended
to other theoretical inputs.
