Analysis of Global Change Assessments Lessons Learned (2007) / Chapter Skim
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5 Advice for Effective Assessments
5 Advice for Effective Assessments
Pages 99-130
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From page 99... ...
Other components of effective assessments included superior leadership, extensive and welldesigned stakeholder engagement, and a transparent and effective sciencepolicy interface. Perhaps the most common weakness of past assessments has been a discrepancy between the scope of the mandate and the funding provided for the assessment effort.
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From page 100... ...
11. Use of a nested assessment approach, when appropriate, using analysis of large-scale trends and identification of priority issues as the context for focused, smaller-scale impacts and response assessments at the regional or local level.
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From page 101... ...
For example, the goal may be to establish the state of knowledge, to indicate the latest understanding of impacts, or to provide response options. For the last, the goal might be to provide information on the effects of alternative response strategies on relevant impact categories.
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From page 102... ...
Both of these studies include effective response assessments in addition to process and impact assessments. The focus on identifying specific technologies to reduce environmental impacts in particular applications or industrial processes seems to have benefited especially the ozone assessments, given the impact the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP)
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From page 103... ...
Other issues that the framework should specify include the degree of integration necessary, scope, timing, target audience, leadership, communication strategy, funding, and measures of success. In addition, the respective roles of those requesting and those funding the assessment in scoping the assessment should be clarified in the original guidance document in order to avoid major discrepancies between the assessment's mandate, expected results, and available funding.
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From page 104... ...
Recommendation: The leadership of and those requesting assessments should develop a guidance document that provides a clear strategic framework, including a well-articulated mandate and a detailed implementation plan realistically linked to budgetary requirements. The guidance document should specify the decisions the assessment intends to inform; the assessment's scope, timing, priorities, target audiences, leadership, communication strategy, funding, and the degree of interdisciplinary integration needed; and measures of success.
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From page 105... ...
A well-designed communication strategy requires significant administrative support throughout the process, particularly at the end for dissemination. Therefore, funds need to be reserved for the final phase when intensive outreach and dissemination efforts are required.
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From page 106... ...
Therefore, the guidance document for the assessment should clarify the role in scoping the assessment mandate of those who are requesting and funding it. The budgeting of resources should focus on ensuring the success of the highest-priority components of the assessment, including aspects that have been shortchanged in the past, such as supporting broad stakeholder participation, communication activities, and dissemination.
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From page 107... ...
assessment activities: 1. The number of global change assessment activities is increasing, including some 21 activities planned or under way by the CCSP, which are combined with U.S.
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From page 108... ...
For example, the act of Congress that created the GCRP also requires national assessments on four-year intervals; the first comprehensive national assessment on climate change was completed over a four-year span, and the current U.S. national assessment effort is now producing 21 synthesis and assessment reports by the CCSP.
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From page 109... ...
4. The impact of assessment products will also change with the volume of reports simply because stakeholder comprehension and willingness to read lengthy reports will decline.
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From page 110... ...
Acknowledging previous assessment efforts as a starting point is particularly relevant to climate change assessments such as the IPCC and U.S. climate change assessments because U.S.-funded research and scientists already play a major role in supporting the IPCC efforts.
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From page 111... ...
The German Enquete Kommission produces assessments that tend to meet the time requirements of decision making by including policy makers and scientists in the ongoing process. Therefore, policy makers benefit from the latest information at the time it becomes available.
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From page 112... ...
The assessment community has recognized the importance of broad engagement of stakeholders in order to ensure salience and legitimacy. In this section, the committee discusses issues related to addressing the needs of specific target audiences, establishing appropriate boundaries at the sciencepolicy interface, engaging stakeholders beyond the target audience, building the capacity of stakeholders to engage in assessments, and a comprehensive, multifaceted communication strategy.
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From page 113... ...
For example, the consideration of impacts at an aggregate level may be useful for those who are responsible for negotiating climate treaties at the domestic or international level, but it will be of little value to those responsible for managing a water resource basin, improving the resilience of an electric power system, or making local land-use decisions. Information must be tailored to an appropriate decision-making scale to be useful.
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From page 114... ...
Finding individuals, skilled at handling this interface, can be difficult. Financial support for this activity has been limited in the past, and it has been difficult to maintain the continuous dialogue with the appropriate target audiences.
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From page 115... ...
In contrast, in the IPCC process, the political oversight and negotiations before the release of the Summary for Policy Makers has led scientists to question the credibility and legitimacy of this particular part of the review process. It would be preferable if the process allowed scientists to retain the ultimate editorial authority over scientific conclusions, as long as a neutral and properly managed review process is in place to ensure that review comments are addressed appropriately.
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From page 116... ...
Science-Policy Interface for CCSP Assessments CCSP's assessment activities have raised credibility and legitimacy issues with some stakeholders, particularly in the science community, because of the way the boundary between science and policy was designed. For example, each assessment product is reviewed by the government and requires approval by high-level government officials, raising the questions of whether the users of the assessments not only control the questions being asked but, at least potentially, also the scientific conclusions.
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From page 117... ...
In addition, the involvement of too many stakeholders could make the assessment process inefficient and too costly. The appropriate balance between broad stakeholder engagement to achieve legitimacy and salience, and the need to achieve efficient, and credible outcomes, will depend on the specific context of each assessment; it will require careful consideration early in the assessment design process.
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From page 118... ...
However, their roles may differ both within and across assessment activities and may depend on which phases of the policy process the assessment intends to inform. Especially if response assessments strive to provide policy options, relevant policy makers must be involved at least in the review process.
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From page 119... ...
Important lessons incorporated in the ACIA process include the realization that the assessment process itself was part of the outcome. Similarly, the stratospheric ozone assessments continued to improve on their communication and outreach products, resulting in very sophisticated reports and graphics in later assessments.
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From page 120... ...
This capacity building may be required to ensure that the most salient questions are being addressed and to meaningfully engage diverse stakeholders in assessment activities.
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From page 121... ...
its communication strategy was planned from the initiation throughout the process and carried out beyond the report production phase including dissemination activities targeting a broad range of audiences; and (2) the intended target audience was identified in advance, and tailored communications were produced.
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From page 122... ...
It should be concise, value-free, and clear about assumptions and uncertainties, and should be crafted and reviewed with attention to clarity, substance, relevance, absence of jargon, and the differing needs of policy and decision makers -- recognizing that they are generally not specialists. Recommendation: Assessments should have a comprehensive, multifaceted communication strategy from the start, encompassing an analysis of the potential audiences, ranging from those requesting the assessment to the general public; use multiple modes of engaging them; focus on the decisions the assessment intends to inform (e.g., policy decisions, legislation, technological innovation, standards, international treaties)
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From page 123... ...
INTEGRATED ASSESSMENTS Degree and Nature of Integration Although multiple definitions of integrated assessments are being used by the community, the committee considers such assessments to result from a process that integrates social, biological, and physical sciences and engineering and allows interdisciplinary synthesis and analysis. Some integrated assessments are integrated after the fact, like the IPCC, and some are actually interdisciplinary and integrated from the beginning, such as the MA.
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From page 124... ...
Another issue with integrated assessments is the difficulty of developing a common language between different disciplines, particularly between social and natural scientists. As mentioned before, such difficulties can be overcome if resources are devoted to capacity building and development of a common language between the various disciplines.
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From page 125... ...
It is not clear whether the 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products currently being conducted by CCSP to address this mandate will meet the needs of policy makers in the same way that a more integrated approach might. In particular, integrated assessments have the potential to better link understanding of global change phenomena with their impacts, thereby providing better information for decision making.
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From page 126... ...
Recommendation: The CCSP should invest in experimental applications of integrated assessments, with a specific focus on advising future applications of truly integrated, ongoing, interdisciplinary assessments in the united States. TREATMENT OF uNCERTAINTY One of the most difficult tasks in an assessment is the expression of uncertainty.
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From page 127... ...
Because assessments may include policy-relevant information and even some value judgments in the case of impact assessments, assessment reviews need to be conducted to achieve salience, legitimacy, and credibility. In contrast, typical science peer review focuses solely on scientific credibility.
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From page 128... ...
In addition, neutral review editors from a broad range of disciplines could function as referees to ensure that comments are responded to appropriately and that well-defined guidelines are followed to avoid the perception of government reviews altering scientific conclusions. Recommendation: An assessment review process should enhance salience and legitimacy in addition to credibility, by engaging interested and affected parties in the review process in addition to the expert community.
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From page 129... ...
EMPLOYING A NESTED MATRIX APPROACH Adaptive approaches are needed to continually integrate advances in knowledge into the policy context. Although it would be ideal to address each sector and region at the local, regional, and national scales while
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From page 130... ...
This will help develop an ongoing assessment program that has more coherence over time. An example of the application of the nested matrix approach is using global climate models to identify likely future changes in temperature and precipitation at the national and regional level that may result from climate change.
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