Difference between revisions of "Societal context of assessments"

Revision as of 12:45, 4 June 2009

This page considers primarily assessments in the field of environmental health, for example in the form of integrated environmental health impact assessments (IEHIA). Most of the content is however generalizable to any kinds of assessments in any field serving as science-based decision support to societal decision making.

Societal role of EHA

Environmental health assessment (EHA) is an endeavour of analysing the relations between environmental phenomena and human health. The purpose of this is to support societal decision making upon actions to control the environmental phenomena or human behaviour in such a way that the adverse impacts are reduced while beneficial impacts are promoted. EHA's may come in many forms and under several titles, e.g. risk assessment (RA), health impact assessment (HIA), environmental impact assessment (EIA), integrated assessment (IA), integrated environmental health impact assessment (IEHIA), benefit-risk analysis (BRA), and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) just to mention a few. The name of the chosen approach is not important. What counts in whether a particular assessment is to be categorized under the relatively broad title of EHA is if it conforms to the following overarching elements of EHA's:

1. The purpose is to provide answers to practical questions regarding societal needs, and thereby enable actions that effectively promote societal good.
2. The answers to the questions are sought for by means of systematic analysis applying scientific knowledge, means and methods.
3. The target of analysis is relevant to environment and health.
4. The approach in the analysis is such that it reveals and compares the impacts of decisions and actions that are known to be possible options to be undertaken.

As both environment and health are very broad concepts, EHA is by its nature a multi-disciplinary field of practice and it addresses issues that are of at least potential interest to a great number of people having different perspectives. Naturally this includes all the scientific experts appointed to make the assessment task and the policy makers having an obligation to deal with the particular issue at hand, but also representatives of industry and commerce, NGO's and the general public e.g. as consumers or citizens. EHA can thus be perceived as a science-based activity that takes place on the interface between science and society, bridges scientific knowledge and practice with the practical needs of e.g. policy, business and everyday life, thereby providing enlightenment and increased awareness within the society at large.

Stakeholders in EHA

Let us now consider the roles that different parties of interest may occupy in an environmental health assessment. The figure below shows a roughly simplified description of the relatively traditional view of the relations between EHA, societal decision making and stakeholders, as well as the primary spheres of responsibility/interest for assessors (presumably scientific experts), decision makers (presumably politicians) and stakeholders (presumed irrelevant?).

In the figure, the assessment process analyses something, produces an assessment product and feeds it as an input to the decision-making process. The decision-makers use, or do not use, the assessment product alongside other inputs to produce decisions upon issues at hand. The decision is then executed leading to certain consequences within the society. The sphere of assessment is traditionally considered as a territory of scientific experts in the role of assessors, while decision making is seen to belong primarily to politicians in corresponding positions to decide upon the issues at hand, and the role of the stakeholders remains mainly as to experience and live with the consequences of decisions. In many cases this view still seems to prevail in the current practice of EHA.

However, the scientific discourse regarding EHA has for quite a while already emphasized the importance and necessity of transparency and participation in decision making processes as well as the assessments themselves. This goes well in line with the major trend of opening up the processes of governance and administration in many fields of practice during the last decades. Although not yet completely, this view has been changing the perceptions as well as practices of EHA towards identifying and addressing also other parties of interest than merely the appointed assessors and the responsible policy-makers. Stakeholder involvement has become an important issue, but who are the stakeholders?

Users and use purposes of the method (to be adapted and changed to stakeholders in EHA)

A spectrum of different potential users of the new risk assessment method can be described e.g. as:

• A Scientists, risk assessors in administration, or consultants working for administration on the European level.
• B Scientists, risk assessors in administration, or consultants working for administration on the national level.
• C Risk assessors in administration or consultants working for administration on the community level.
• D Authorities involved in managing risks but not actually qualified in making risk assessments (any level).
• E Political decision-makers (any level).
• F Representatives of the industry or business.
• G Representatives of NGOs.
• H Citizens directly affected by the risk assessment outcomes.
• I Anyone interested.

A spectrum of different kinds of use purposes by different users of the method can be described e.g. as in the table. Also tentative priorities have been given for the toolbox to facilitate different uses for different users (XXX = high importance, XX = moderate importance, X = potential importance, empty cell = no identified need or low importance).