A Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment: Involving Stakeholders in European Policy Making, a Case Study of Land Use Change in Malta

Abstract

A Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment is presented for use within European land use policy impact assessment. The context and rationale for the development of the Framework are outlined, both in the context of European policy making and within a project called "Sustainability Impact Assessment: Tools for Environmental, Social and Economic Effects of Multifunctional Land Use in European Regions". A detailed description of the sequence of methods that make up the Framework is provided, followed by illustrations and details of the practical application and results from a case study in Malta, where the Framework was used to carry out an impact assessment of biodiversity policies. After reporting on the reflections of the research team and valuable feedback provided by Maltese stakeholders, the Framework's ability to enhance the quality, credibility and legitimacy of European policy impact assessment is discussed.

Knowledge Brokerage for Impact Assessment of Land Use Scenarios in Inner Mongolia, China: Extending and Testing the FoPIA Approach

“…FoPIA provides a structured sequence of methods [29,34] to conduct participatory impact assessments of alternative land use scenarios. FoPIA incorporates the idea of multifunctional land use in which the "land use functions" (LUFs) concept is at the core of the method [29].…”

“…FoPIA was originally invented by Morris et al [29] for the European context to support developing computer-based sustainability impact assessment tools [20,30]. Since then, FoPIA has been developed continuously and applied and tested on a variety of different land use problems in different regions.…”

“…Yet, despite its various applications [29,34], FoPIA as a participatory impact assessment tool had not been analysed with respect to its usefulness for the communication in the science-policy interface. KB addresses different levels, depths and approaches of interaction among policy-makers and researchers, enabling their scientific expertise to be fed into the assessment process.…”

Using causal maps to support ex-post assessment of social impacts of dams

“…Thus it should not be forgotten that around LPW and their impact assessment there appears a range of opposing interests which can condition their execution and results. Thirdly, the inclusion of the local population in assessment can grant it greater legitimacy, credibility, and balance (Morris et al, 2011). Fourthly, the inclusion of local knowledge can afford valuable information on the natural and social environment to arise.…”

Stakeholder Strategies for Sustainability Impact Assessment of Land Use Scenarios: Analytical Framework and Identifying Land Use Claims

“…The Framework of Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA) provides a participatory approach to connecting Impact Assessment with the concept of SD. In this case, the anticipated effects of land use scenarios are linked with the normative ideals of stakeholders via evaluating LUFs [19]. FoPIA combines an expert-based scenario assessment with local preferences regarding land use related sustainability issues and supports the exploration of alternative land use scenarios to reveal possible sustainability trade-offs among social, economic, and environmental LUFs [20].…”