CHANGES IN THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT FAMILY 2003–2014: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSIDERING ACHIEVEMENTS, GAPS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Abstract
Over 150 forms of impact assessment can be identified using Google searches, with several new forms appearing since 2003. Since then, the popularity of the various members of the impact assessment family has changed, partly in response to legislative and regulatory changes, and general trends in society. The information explosion and expansion of the internet has resulted in a 32 fold increase in the number of hits for "impact assessment", now over 12 million. The conventional methods most frequently mentioned in 2003 had relatively low proportional change over the last 10 years but remain amongst the most frequently mentioned in 2014: risk assessment, public participation, cost-benefit analysis, public involvement, environmental monitoring, and project evaluation. The terms with highest proportional change (i.e. the super-hot topics) were primarily social concerns, including: equality impact assessment, welfare impact assessment, mental health impact assessment, disability impact assessment, human impact assessment, social impact assessment, and social risk assessment. Other terms that had high proportional change included life cycle impact assessment. Information about the relative popularity of the various forms of impact assessment is used in this paper to discuss issues and trends in the broad field of impact assessment.
References
- BBC News (19 November, 2012). Cameron "calls time" on Labour's equality impact assessments http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20400747 [last accessed: 1 November 2014] . Google Scholar
- PLoS ONE 8(10), e76584 (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0076584. Crossref, Google Scholar
- Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal 32(3), 188 (2014). Crossref, Google Scholar
- , Health in Impact Assessments: Opportunities Not to be Missed, eds.
R. Fehr (World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 2014) pp. 69–88, http://www.euro.who.int/health-in-IA. Google Scholar - Environmental Impact Assessment Review 29(2), 137 (2009). Crossref, Google Scholar
- Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal 30(1), 35 (2012). Crossref, Google Scholar
- European Planning Studies 23(3), 433 (2015). Crossref, Google Scholar
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review 43 , 40 ( 2013 ) . Crossref, Google Scholar
- Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal 31(2), 146 (2013). Crossref, Google Scholar
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review 46 , 58 ( 2014 ) . Crossref, Google Scholar
- Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal 29(3), 170 (2011). Crossref, Google Scholar
- , New Directions in Social Impact Assessment: Conceptual and Methodological Advances, eds.
F. Vanclay and A. M. Esteves (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2011) pp. 341–354. Google Scholar - Kauppinen, T, M Sihto, R Wiman and A Lintula (eds.) (2002). Human Impact Assessment: Report on the Seminar on Human Impact Assessment, Helsinki-Kellokoski, Finland, 24–25 January, 2002 (Themes 4/2002), Helsinki: STAKES (National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health) in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, pp. 27–29. [online] http://julkari.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/77682/themes42002.pdf [accessed 4 November 2014] . Google Scholar
- Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal 31(2), 86 (2013). Crossref, Google Scholar
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review 43 , 1 ( 2013 ) . Crossref, Google Scholar
- New Economics Foundation (2008). Measuring Social Impact: A Guide To Social Return on Investment. [online] http://commdev.org/userfiles/files/2196_file_SROI.nef2008.pdf [accessed 4 November 2014] . Google Scholar
- Resources Policy 37 , 346 ( 2012 ) . Crossref, Google Scholar
- , Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, eds.
F. Vanclay and D. Bronstein (Wiley, New York, 1995) pp. 221–246. Google Scholar - , The International Handbook of Social Impact Assessment: Conceptual and Methodological Advances, eds.
H. Becker and F. Vanclay (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2003) pp. 258–277. Google Scholar - , New Directions in Social Impact Assessment: Conceptual and Methodological Advances, eds.
F. Vanclay and A. M. Esteves (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2011) pp. 186–201. Google Scholar - Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 30(2), 116 (2012). Crossref, Google Scholar
- Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management 15(3), 21 (2013). Link, Google Scholar
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review 50 , 1 ( 2015 ) . Crossref, Google Scholar
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review 22(3), 183 (2002). Crossref, Google Scholar
- Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal 21(1), 5 (2003). Crossref, Google Scholar
- Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management 6(3), 265 (2004). Link, Google Scholar
- , Controversies in Environmental Sociology, ed.
R. White (Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 2004) pp. 257–275. Crossref, Google Scholar - Environmental Impact Assessment Review 26(1), 3 (2006). Crossref, Google Scholar
- Ocean & Coastal Management 68 , 149 ( 2012 ) . Crossref, Google Scholar
- , Developments in Social Impact Assessment, ed.
F. Vanclay (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2014) pp. xv–xxxix. Crossref, Google Scholar - Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal 32(1), 11 (2014). Crossref, Google Scholar
- , Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, eds.
F. Vanclay and D. Bronstein (Wiley, Chichester, 1995) pp. xi–xiii. Google Scholar - , New Directions in Social Impact Assessment: Conceptual and Methodological Advances, eds.
F. Vanclay and A. M. Esteves (Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2011) pp. 3–19. Crossref, Google Scholar - Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal 31(4), 243 (2013). Crossref, Google Scholar
