HRIA And Concepts Used
As Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) is a relatively new field of work, it has partly been based on existing concepts of impact assessment and other types of strategic planning concepts. Examples of some of these concepts are the:
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
- Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
- Social Impact Assessment (SIA)
- Health Impact Assessment (HIA)
- European Commission approach to Impact Assessment
- Project Cycle Management (PCM)
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Environmental impact assessment is a long-standing, far-developed form of impact assessment. It was developed in the 1960s with the aim of systematically incorporating environmental concerns into decision making. According to UNEP-DTIE, EIA is 'a tool used to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project prior to decision-making. It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape projects to suit the local environment and present the predictions and options to decision-makers. By using EIA both environmental and economic benefits can be achieved, such as reduced cost and time of project implementation and design, avoided treatment/clean-up costs and impacts of laws and regulations.’
- Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
The stages of a strategic environmental assessment, have functioned as a basis for the development of the HOM HRIA Approach (see 8 steps). SEA is linked to EIA. However SEA aims to develop environmental assessments for more strategic decisions, such as plans and programmes. According to Nilsson & Dalkmann ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment aims to incorporate environmental and sustainability considerations into strategic decision making processes, such as the formulation of policies, plans and programmes.’ According to Partidario, SEA is ‘a systematic, on-going process for evaluating, at the earliest appropriate stage of publicly accountable decision making, the environmental quality, and consequences, of alternative visions and development intentions incorporated in policy, planning, or programme initiatives, ensuring full integration of relevant biophysical, economic, social and political consideration.’
- Social Impact Assessment (SIA)
Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is the process of assessing and managing the impacts of a project, plan, program or policy on people (source: Vanclay). It is an overarching framework for the evaluation of all impacts on humans. And on all ways in which people and communities interact with their socio-cultural, economic and biophysical surroundings. SIA includes the processes of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions and any social change processes invoked by those interventions. Its primary purpose is to bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human environment. (source: IAIA) Social Impact Assessment assumes that social, economic and biophysical impacts are interconnected. It can be applied in different contexts and for different purposes, ex ante as well as ex post; for example to assess the social impacts of disasters.
- Health Impact Assessment (HIA)
Health Impact Assessment (HIA) according to the WHO is ‘a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, programme or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population and the distribution of those effects within the population.’ It assesses ‘the health effects of interventions that are not primarily aimed at effecting health’, and tries to make policies, programmes and projects ‘health conscious’. (source: Institute of Public Health in Ireland )
- European Commission approach to Impact Assessment
The European Commission has developed an impact assessment process. This is used in a wide range of areas to assess the economic, environmental and social impacts of policy proposals. It aims to improve the quality of EC proposals (taking into account their side effects) and to improve and simplify the regulatory environment, as well as to achieve more consistency between policies and to contribute to sustainable development. The EC has started to develop an integrated impact assessment process in 2002, which replaces all their previous impact assessment mechanisms. In 2005 the EC published a set of guidelines on impact assessment. The Commission’s approach to IA consists of six analytical steps, requiring stakeholder participation throughout the whole process. The guidelines were updated in March 2006.
- Project Cycle Management (PCM)
‘Project cycle management (PCM) is the term given to the process of planning and managing projects, programmes and organisations. It is used widely in the business sector and is increasingly being used by development organisations’ (source: Tearfund International). Typically PCM involves the following stages: Programming / Identification / Appraisal / Financing / Implementation / Evaluation. The findings from evaluation could feed back into the identification phase. This ensures the cyclic approach of plan – do – check/feedback – adapt. In PCM tools such as needs assessment, stakeholder analysis, logical framework matrix, problem analysis etc. are used. These tools are also presented in the HRIRC as HRIA tools.