Policy assessment: the state of the art

Advancing the theory and practice of impact assessment: Setting the research agenda

“…Although "the point has not yet been reached at which there is universal consensus as to what sustainability assessment is or how it should be applied" (Bond et al, 2012, p53), these five objectives are presented as the basic principles of practice, and the lack of methodological definition is seen as a strength that acknowledges pluralism. This contrasts with the alternative view expressed by reviewers of other fields that agreed approaches and methodologies are a strength of practice (Adelle and Weiland, 2012;Fundingsland Tetlow and Hanusch, 2012;HarrisRoxas et al, 2012). We return to the matter of impact assessment procedures in Section 3.2.…”

“…More recently, Lyhne (2012) traces the trajectory of a Danish planning process, exploring the complexities and political nature of this multi-actor process and highlighting the challenges for SEA in responding meaningfully to the many convolutions of the process. The influence of political processes, particularly those that occur in the later stages of decision-making after the assessment process has been formally completed, is also identified as a particular challenge for policy assessment (Adelle and Weiland, 2012).…”

“…Recent contributions to the literature reflect a degree of comfort that procedures are now fairly well established for many forms of impact assessment, and considerable process guidance is available to practitioners (Adelle and Weiland, 2012;Esteves et al, 2012;Harris-Roxas et al, 2012;Morgan, 2012 Several authors caution, however, that the availability of guidance does not necessarily correlate to good practice; for example Morgan (2012, p11) suggests that "(t)here is concern in many countries over the poor quality of impact assessment information" and Adelle and Weiland (2012, p26) emphasise that "in some countries a large gap between the policy assessment system and assessment practice exists". To an extent, the gap between mandated system and practice can be considered a capacity development issue, whereby the skills and institutions needed to conduct the process need time to develop and mature (VanDeveer and Dabelko, 2001).…”

“…Fundingsland Tetlow and Hanusch (2012) Interestingly, however, the UNECE Protocol does not find a place in Adelle and Weiland's (2012) review of the state of the art of policy assessment. Indeed policy assessment practice appears quite removed from the field of impact assessment with its concerns with sustainability: as the authors say, "environmental objectives may or may not be a significant feature of a policy assessment system, if present at all" (p25).…”

“…To this end, a recent special edition of Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal sought to establish the state of the art of impact assessment in 2012 with respect to six core practice areas: environmental impact assessment (EIA) (Morgan, 2012); strategic environmental assessment (SEA) (Fundingsland Tetlow and Hanusch, 2012); policy assessment (Adelle and Weiland, 2012); social impact assessment (SIA) (Esteves et al, 2012); health impact assessment (HIA) (Harris-Roxas et al, 2012); and sustainability assessment . The special edition was a timely update of other such comprehensive compilations, such as Petts ' (1999) Handbook of Environmental Impact Assessment and Vanclay and Bronstein's (1995) book Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.…”