Search results

The purpose of this paper is to report on performance measurement and impact assessment progress made in 14 countries as part of the Global Libraries initiative, starting with the early country grants in Mexico and Chile. For the mature grants in Bulgaria, Botswana, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Viet Nam which were recently completed or are approaching completion, the nature of the country program is outlined, before the impact assessment work is described and some recent results and conclusions are reported. A similar approach is adopted with pilot and new grants in Colombia, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey and Lithuania.

The country reports are presented as a series of case studies, in some cases supplementing those in an earlier special issue of this journal.

Where appropriate, recent country-specific survey findings are reported.

This paper shares Global Libraries IPA learning at country level with people in other countries who may be contemplating public library evaluation at regional, national or local level or who are interested in performance measurement and impact evaluation.

These cases studies reflect concentrated impact assessment and performance measurement work at country level across a range of countries over more than 12 years.

This paper describes the process of developing a mental health and well‐being impact assessment tool in Lewisham, as part of an attempt to increase understanding of mental health and well‐being in the context of regeneration programmes. It is presented as a work in progress and the authors would welcome feedback and debate on the complex issues raised when adapting health impact assessment methods to the assessment of mental well‐being.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of social impact assessment (SIA) principles to evaluate the contribution of cultural heritage to social sustainability, supporting both a people-centered and socially responsible approach to heritage management.

Specifically, the paper explores SIA as a methodological tool for post-project evaluation, used to define projects’ contributions to aspects of social sustainability through analyzing impacts of participation in a rural context case study, that of the Scapa Flow landscape heritage scheme in Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK.

Based on research findings from the thematic analysis of 40 semi-structured interviews on impacts (with heritage managers, planners and participants in the scheme), the paper proposes a combination of heritage value assessment process with social impact identification to achieve a context-relevant assessment of social sustainability. Existing research around social capital and sense of place supports the analysis of relevant impacts and heritage values. Findings support overlaps between socio-environmental impacts, when looking at the role of heritage for community well-being in rural contexts.

The qualitative approach allows for a context-relevant, bottom up impact assessment and allows for multiple stakeholders perceptions to be included.

The proposed methodological approach has greater implications for the work of institutions and professionals involved in project evaluations that can inform participatory heritage project planning, ensuring high social relevance.

Application of SIA principles in heritage sector can increase social benefits of heritage projects and enable wider community participation in processes of heritage management.

Through this case study, the effectiveness of SIA principles when applied in cultural heritage project evaluation is discussed, reflecting on a novel methodology for impact assessment in heritage.

The increase in issues pertaining to the strategic assessment of territorial transformation has made it necessary to find new methods and tools that are able to consider the several factors at stake. The purpose of this paper is to examine the full range of impacts produced by a project in a territorial context and propose a real application concerning the construction of a new hydropower plant in Bulgaria.

Making use of checklists, network chains and specific impact matrixes, the paper tries to evaluate the overall environmental compatibility of the project.

The performed analysis highlights a final compatibility that in most cases is satisfactory, where the most critical states concern the disturbance to the fauna species living in the area and, above all, the impacts of the project on the landscape.

The work puts in evidence the necessity of further investigations for the definition of mitigation measures that are able to reduce the most relevant effects of the project, especially the visual impact of the dams.

A part from the environmental issues, a key‐role in the general feasibility of large dam projects is played by the analysis of the social impacts. The paper puts in evidence the importance of considering in the evaluation, the effects of the hydropower plant on the community.

The general theme has an interdisciplinary nature and requires several issues to be considered: technical, economic, social and environmental aspects. The paper provides a comprehensive assessment framework in order to implement such an interdisciplinary approach.

Developments at all levels between project and policy have a potential impact on human health. Health‐impact assessment (HIA) is a discipline that seeks to assess these impacts to safeguard and enhance human health. There is a growing consensus about the scope, methodology and context for HIA but there are also many unresolved issues. This paper reviews the main trends as they vary between the healthy public policy, environmental assessment and environmental epidemiology communities; and between retrospective and prospective, developed and developing economies and urban/industrial versus rural settings. There are unresolved issues associated with the nature of evidence, the link with economic appraisal, and with the core biophysical and social health determinants. The nature of the evidence used is examined and some resolutions are proposed. The growing number of guidelines testify to a demand by development agencies for HIA, but increased consensus is required to ensure that quality assessments are delivered.

This paper argues that there is a tendency towards over simplification in community safety planning, which currently presents inadequate models to respond to the complexity of change in dynamic urban environments with naturally transient populations. Drawing upon environmental and health planning models, a responsive, flexible impact assessment approach is described and proposed.

This study aims to identify and gauge the sustainability indicators (SUSIs) for sustainable Hydroelectric Power (HEP) project development. It examines major SUSIs under the social, economic and environmental (SEE) fronts and categorizes them under push and pull impacts which helps to identify challenges and opportunities associated with projects. Additionally, the study calculates an empirical sustainability index (SI) to assess the sustainability level of HEP. Finally, the study suggests mitigation measures across stakeholders, which will optimize government/developer/investor investments.

This paper examines the interaction of sustainable HEP development with SUSIs using Uttarakhand as a study area. Additionally, SI has been developed quantitatively. For the indicator classification, the authors conducted a literature review and secondary survey of all affected parties, including investors, developers, NGOs and villagers. The fuzzy logic theory (FLT) is used to determine the SI of the study area and classify projects in their level of sustainability. On the basis of expert opinion and literature review, mitigation measures are proposed across stakeholders.

The authors found that there is a mixed effect of SUSIs on HEP development across various projects in Uttarakhand. Furthermore, the authors suggest that index-based assessment and planned collaboration play a significant role in sustainable HEP development. Mitigation measures should be suggested to all affected stakeholders based on specific project issues, i.e. collaborations, training, public awareness campaigns, and initiatives by the government that would improve sustainability conditions.

In addition to supporting the ongoing and upcoming initiatives launched by the Government of India, including the Green Energy Corridor, independent power producers (IPPs); and the India-Renewable Resources Development Project with IDA and participates in Net zero target.

The structured, sustainable HEP planning suggested in the study will help to conserve society, economy, save resources and in parallel reduce the cost and time of developers and policymakers. This will also help to improve the socioeconomic status of the villagers and prolong the life of the project.

The innovative SI-based push-pull approach identifies a sustainable HEP project planning.

This paper aims to examine the role of project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in international development (ID) project stakeholders' relationships. This study draws on agency theory to examine the specific role M&E plays in improving ID project impact.

Qualitative data comprising of in-depth interviews were collected from ID project stakeholders such as project donors, implementing partners and steering committee members.

Results of the study show that project M&E activities can serve multiple purposes including the collection of data for the assessment of inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact. This information is shared with stakeholders to assist in evidence-based decision-making to improve project impact on community. This study shows that M&E activities strengthen the relationship between stakeholders by involving multiple stakeholders at different stages of ID projects to identify community needs and to demonstrate the positive community impact. Agency issues such as goal incongruence, information asymmetry and risk-sharing affect the relationship between the stakeholders. Investing in different M&E activities can reduce these issues, ultimately leading to a positive impact at the community level.

There has been limited research that explores the principal-agent relationship between project stakeholders of ID projects through the lens of agency theory. The role of M&E to collect project data and address agency issues between project stakeholders to improve project impact is the novel contribution of this paper.