This series of articles is reflective of what the future could look like if these assessments, which have historically been at the margins, were to become mainstream. That vision is of the major decisions, in the public and private sector, being developed and implemented with foresight and understanding of the implications for key societal outcomes, particularly for vulnerable or marginalised groups. That the discussed impact assessments are not currently a routine and widespread undertaking is thought-provoking and, in this editor’s view, concerning.
Looking into the volume we see a thread of valuable impact assessments that are challenged by a lack of clear and consistent triggers for them to be undertaken. For example, child rights are secured through various legislations in the UK, but without a legal requirement for Child Rights Impact Assessment itself. Similar experiences are encountered across several other specialist assessments. Gender is recognised in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but generally lacks a legislative basis for assessment and equality has grounding UK legislation but without requiring Equality Impact Assessment specifically. Even Human Rights with all their recognition and near universal support have variable implementation and application of impact assessment processes. There is a failure to operationalise these freedoms and values through requirements for impact assessments that protect and apply them in specific decision-making processes. Health Impact Assessment has a mixed experience. In some jurisdictions there are statutory requirements, in others, the basis is entirely voluntary. Even where there are legal requirements to consider health integrated within the more mainstream assessments such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) there are also constant pressures to narrow and limit the scope of understanding, preventing a full picture of what a decision would mean in terms of likely and significant effects for people and vulnerable groups.
This volume shines a spotlight on some key impact assessments that ask crucial and sometimes uncomfortable questions about impacts ‘to people’, including those with little voice and little power. These are, however, questions that a mature society needs to acknowledge and engage with, not just when convenient and low risk, but in all major decisions.
Challenge yourself to read the volume with the following question in mind: ‘what are we failing to take into account when we don’t have these impact assessments?’.
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