Effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment - the significance of learning

Jha-Thakur, Urmila; Gazzola, Paola; Peel, David; Fischer, Thomas B.; Kidd, Sue

doi:10.3152/146155109x454302

Cited by 144 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The challenge of linking SEA to outcomes is exacerbated when the SEA process is tightly coupled with policy or planning itself, such as when SEA is used to guide the development of a PPP (Partidário 2012). Jha-Thakur et al (2009), for example, report that when SEA is part of a wider, well-developed planning context, it may not necessarily enhance certain levels of learning, which may already be well developed. That said, much of the literature indicates that SEA is most effective when integrated with the PPP development and decision-making process (Brown & Thérivel 2000;CCME 2009;Partidário 2012;Tetlow & Hanusch 2012).…”

Section: Understanding and Advancing Sea's Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indirect impacts may materialize as new ideas or innovations in subsequent PPPs or rounds of decision-making, impacts on processes and situations other than those of which the SEA is part (Bina et al 2011), changes or improvements in administrative structures, or the initiation of new research programs. Such impacts are not easily identified due to their implicit nature -they are often unplanned for and subtle as learning and longer-term transformations of individual, professional and organizational norms and practices unfold (Kornov & Thissen 2000;Owens & Cowell 2006;Sinclair et al 2008;Jha-Thakur et al 2009). Understanding the efficacy of SEA requires that both its direct and indirect impacts be considered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the impact of strategic environmental assessment

Acharibasam

Noble

2014

Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal

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This paper examines the impact of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) -its direct impact on policies, plans and programs (PPPs) and its indirect and longer-term impacts. Criteria for assessing SEA's impact are developed and applied in the Canadian context based on a survey of SEA practitioners, and the perceived opportunities and challenges to realizing the full impact of SEA explored. Results indicate that SEA does have a direct impact on PPPs, but its indirect impacts are either constrained or difficult to distinguish from an agency's normal policies, practices and innovations. Amongst the most significant challenges to realizing the indirect impacts of SEA is the lack of shared vision for SEA by those responsible for implementation, and incongruences between the need for rapid results by way of PPP approval versus the long-term commitment required to realize many of the benefits of SEA. Indirect impacts require more explicit consideration at the outset of the SEA design process than what is currently the case if the benefits of SEA are to be fully recognized.

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Section: Understanding and Advancing Sea's Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the impact of strategic environmental assessment

Acharibasam

Noble

2014

Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal

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“…In fact, it is claimed that with SEA spaces have been opened for community groups that have normally not been involved in strategic planning issues (Sheate and Partidário, 2010), which improves transparency in decision making (Hedo and Bina, 1999;Xiuzhen et al, 2002;Therivel, 2004) and facilitates collaborative learning within organizations and with the wider society (Jha-Thakur et al, 2009).…”

Section: Strategic Focused Strategic Environmental Assessment (Sea)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SEA is considered to be a tool that takes a strategic approach to improve planning and decision making (Partidário, 2000(Partidário, , 2007. SEA is also viewed as an instrument that has the potential to involve actors in strategic and complex decision making contexts (Sheate Azcárate and Balfors 69 and Partidário, 2010), and that enhances collaborative learning (Jha-Thakur et al, 2009). However, as SEA practice has been largely dominated by its application as a technical, impact assessment based tool rather than a strategic planning enhancing tool (Jiliberto, 2007), there is a growing need for examples of SEA application as a strategic focused process that adapts to complex strategic planning and decision making contexts (Vicente and Partidário, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Network strategic assessment approach for dialogue and capacity development in NGOs

Azcárate

Balfors²

2013

Int. NGOJ

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As platforms for dialogue non-governmental organizations play an important role in facilitating the inclusion of a diversity of views in the debates and decisions that shape society. However, to successfully influence societal development non-governmental organizations need to develop and mobilize their capacities. This paper argues that organizational capacities can be developed and mobilized with strategic dialogues, which can be enabled and fostered with network strategic assessment approaches. Through a case study, research was carried out to draw experiences from designing a network strategic assessment approach in the context of a network-based nongovernmental organization that aims to strengthen the development of its members and communities. Even though conceptualizing the network strategic assessment approach was challenging, research results were participant engagement, process ownership and strategic dialogues. It is argued that by fostering strategic dialogues network strategic assessment approaches allow networks to synchronize and mainstream their strategic elements in the daily activities of their member organizations. Moreover, it is claimed that such approaches contribute to integrate aspects of capacity development with network planning and decision making, enhancing organizational understanding and performance.

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“…The general trend of the last decade shows a broad use of single loop of learning (Stoeglehner 2010;Wallington et al 2007), with more sporadic engagement with a double loop (Jha-Thakur et al 2009). This outlines the challenge of applying loops of learning and adaptive approaches to varying SEA protocols that are often misunderstood or misinterpreted by the same policy actors that deal with them on a daily basis.…”

Section: From Adaptive Approaches To Policy-making To Adaptive and Itmentioning

confidence: 99%

A limits-oriented approach to sustainable planning assessments: a comparative analysis of South East Queensland (Australia) and Lombardia (Italy)

Baresi¹

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Sustainable development is one of the key issues facing human survival on this planet. The urban planning discipline is actively involved in fostering more feasible ways to structure human activities and their relationship with the global ecosystem's finite resources. Since sustainability has become a major issue for human kind, sustainability assessments have proliferated in different ways to integrate socio-economic prosperity and provide environmental safeguards. In theory, these assessments can contribute towards addressing the increasing threats posed by climate change and by the depletion of natural resources, by building consensus around shared strategies involving a wide range of stakeholders to address national and international sustainable development goals. In practice however, sustainability assessments are undermined by problems associated with first the policy-making processes (for example, stakeholders' involvement) and second the measurement of the impacts of policies, plans and programs (such as the definition and computation of sustainability indicators). These issues weaken community trust in sustainability assessments and reduce their efficacy. Critical research is required to explore viable solutions.The main goal of this thesis is to address the shortcomings of current procedures for sustainability assessment. A comparative case study explores differences and similarities between an Australian region (South East Queensland) and an Italian region (Lombardia), which are representative of different institutional and planning backgrounds. Methodologically, this thesis develops and applies a framework to understand how limitations within political and societal processes prevent the achievement of environmentally sustainable planning. This framework combines a 'limits-oriented approach to evolutionary ecology' (Sih & Gleeson 1995) transposed to governance and policy-making processes, and the need to pursue a sustainable use of finite natural resources as suggested by positions addressing the 'limits to growth' by Meadows et al. (1972).Overall, this thesis develops an approach to diagnose current obstacles that need to be overcome and the pathway for achieving institutionalised limits-oriented approaches for improving procedures of sustainability assessment. This 'limits-oriented' framework outlines the benefits that South East Queensland and Lombardia can achieve by optimising current practices for sustainable planning within their regional contexts. This approach explores the limiting traits that undermine the performance of sustainability assessments, and proposes ways to bridge the gaps that separate their theoretical conceptualisation from their practical implementation.The framework developed and tested through this thesis offers an analytical lens to examine how the assessment of sustainable planning is currently featured in different institutional contexts. Its experimental implementation in countries with different planning traditions provides an insight on iii how to overcome iss...

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Effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment - the significance of learning

Cited by 144 publications

References 30 publications

Assessing the impact of strategic environmental assessment

Assessing the impact of strategic environmental assessment

Network strategic assessment approach for dialogue and capacity development in NGOs

A limits-oriented approach to sustainable planning assessments: a comparative analysis of South East Queensland (Australia) and Lombardia (Italy)

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