The policy-relevancy of impact assessment tools: Evaluating nine years of European research funding

Podhora, Aranka; Helming, Katharina; Adenäuer, Lucie; Heckelei, Thomas; Kautto, Petrus; Reidsma, P.; Rennings, Klaus; Turnpenny, John; Jansen, Jacques

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2013.03.002

Cited by 31 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…15 have been criticised for their lack of flexibility and inability to integrate with other models (Bezlepkina et al 2014), their failure to deliver to both the farm-scale and the sector scale (Dalgaard et al 2003), their lack of ability to give cross disciplinary meaning, their limitation to be case specific, and their inability to be used beyond the environment for which they were designed (Van Ittersum et al 2008a). To address these shortfalls, work has been done within the European Union to create models of systems which can give both a macro and micro perspective on system behaviour and incorporate spatial and temporal impacts to allow for ex-ante assessment of policies and interventions (Podhora et al 2013;Bezlepkina et al 2014).…”

Section: An Agent Based Modelling Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining micro-bottom-up and macro-top-down modelling responses to nutrient cycles in complex agricultural systems

Burdock

Crawford

2015

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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Concerns over the long-term sustainability of the food production system and the nutritional content of food from mineral depleted soils have encouraged a policy shift to sustainable agricultural practices where soil health supports nutrition-sensitive agriculture. Interventions at the micro scale have the ability to affect the entire system, forcing an examination at the whole of systems level. Modelling plays an important role in determining the outcomes of policy intervention combinations, particularly when systems are identified as being complex. This study begins with a systems map tracing the nutrient cycling process between natural ecosystem processes and farm practices from the bottom-up within a top-down framework. Soil is at the centre of this approach, expanding links to other influences within the framework in order to understand the relationships between elements in an environmental-agricultural system. Moving to a generic model from a broad conceptual system map is problematic when crop types, plant mineral absorption rates, soil and geographic differences are to be accommodated. Work has been done to develop top-down framework models integrating bottom-up component models, capable of being used in different scenarios. Whether existing models are used or new models are created, this study recommends that an appropriate modelling response require examination of systems and policy interventions both holistically and in detail encompassing situational specifics.

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Section: An Agent Based Modelling Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining micro-bottom-up and macro-top-down modelling responses to nutrient cycles in complex agricultural systems

Burdock

Crawford

2015

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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“…Keywords: Interdisciplinary Research, Sustainable Development, Decision Making, Research Needs, Science-policy Interface provision of scientific information meet the interests and needs of the decision makers or are there areas of decision-making interest that are not adequately addressed in the research (Podhora et al 2013)? In recent years, the discussion on the role of science in policy support has increasingly become important to both sides: policy makers and researchers. Scientific results should provide appropriate information to the various stages of the policy process (e.g., policy design and ex-ante as well as ex-post evaluation) and enable policy makers to base their decisions on scientifically robust results (Adelle et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Confronting international research topics with stakeholders on multifunctional land use: the case of Inner Mongolia, China

König¹,

Podhora²,

Helming³

et al. 2014

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionLand use in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region ("Inner Mongolia") has a long tradition of nomadic pastoralism (Zhizhong & Wen 2008). With economic development, population growth, and increasing demand for natural resources globally and particularly in China, regional land use preferences have changed toward an increased preference for commodity production (Zhen et al. 2010(Zhen et al. , 2014. Thus, land use in Inner Mongolia is experiencing a period of transition, which affects natural resources and regional development in different ways. Because Inner Mongolia is increasingly facing severe land degradation problems, regional land use changes were triggered by the Chinese government with the introduction of several land conservation policies, such as the "Wind and sand source control around Beijing and Tianjin project" (2001 to 2010), which focused on afforestation and grassland maintenance ; the "Sloping land conversion program" (SLCP -initiated 1999) to convert arable land to grassland or forests in the agro-pasture zone (Yin & Yin 2010, König et al. 2012b; and the "Grazing prohibition" policy (since 1987), which requires livestock fencing and bans livestock from degraded areas (Jun Li et al. 2007, Li & Huntsinger 2011. Simultaneously, the government has excluded herders from vast areas of land and has attempted to move them into "minority villages", where they are expected to survive by producing milk for the dairy industry using a limited and fixed area of grassland. These developments resulted in the abandonment of nomadic pastoralism in favor of individual farming, with fenced herding and increasing herd densities per unit of land (Zhizhong & Wen 2008).With the increasing demand for land-based resources and ecosystem services, land use is no longer an issue that is of interest only to local land managers. Instead, society places a complex portfolio of demands on land utilization. Some of these demands are met by commodities for which farmers and land managers are paid, such as food, fiber, energy, and timber. Other demands exhibit the character of public goods, e.g., habitats, biodiversity, clean water and air, greenhouse gas mitigation, the buffering of weather extremes, cooling, flood control, cultural assets, and recreational and human health assets, and they contribute to the social and environmental good (Costanza & Daly 1992, de Groot et al. 2010.The concept of multifunctional land use was developed to encompass the multitude of services that land use provides (Wiggering et al. 2003). The underlying rationale for multifunctional land use is to simultaneously and interactively consider the social, economic, and environmental effects of any land use action including the effects of commodity production and those of uses for the public good. The multifunctionality of land use reflects the wide spectrum of land use options and their interaction with regard to sustainable development (Wiggering et al. 2006). Thus, scientific support requires the inclusio...

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“…Previous research has focused on aggregate policy impacts of biofuels, electric vehicles or other emission reduction schemes (Ghermandy et al, 2013;Marsden and Hess, 2011;Oxley et al, 2012;Podhora et al, 2013;Rode et al, 2014), but not on impact distribution among social groups. Therefore, this paper contrasts findings between income quintiles used as a proxy for social groups to extend previous findings and offer an overview of different impact distribution to policy makers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An ethical assessment of low carbon vehicles using cost benefit analysis

Thomopoulos

Harrison

2016

IJATM

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Global concerns about climate change, as confirmed at COP21, have led to lower carbon emissions environmental policies, particularly in the road transport sector. Through an empirical analysis of Low Carbon Vehicle (LCV) policies in California, this paper contrasts the findings from diverse distribution theories between income quintiles -used as a proxy for social groups -to address vertical equity concerns and offer an overview of impact distribution to policy makers. Thus, it contributes in operationalising ethical theories within transport Cost-Benefit Analysis and revisiting impact distribution when promoting low carbon vehicles. Findings indicate that manufacturer penalties are the most effective policy measure to avoid cost transfer between stakeholders. Yet, the analysis shows that those purchasing small LCVs may face disproportional vehicle purchase cost increases which needs to be considered by policy makers. Thus, this paper makes a methodological contribution regarding CBA in practice as well as providing policy relevant recommendations.

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The policy-relevancy of impact assessment tools: Evaluating nine years of European research funding

Cited by 31 publications

References 27 publications

Combining micro-bottom-up and macro-top-down modelling responses to nutrient cycles in complex agricultural systems

Combining micro-bottom-up and macro-top-down modelling responses to nutrient cycles in complex agricultural systems

Confronting international research topics with stakeholders on multifunctional land use: the case of Inner Mongolia, China

An ethical assessment of low carbon vehicles using cost benefit analysis

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