Please click on the feedback link on bottom of this page to summit your comments.  Â Our Partners on the Evaluation of the Pilot Program
 Environmental and Economics Unit (EEU) at The University of Gothenburg, Sweden o EEU specializes in environmental economics research, capacity building and policy advice. It has a close collaboration with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA, which is one of the main supporters of the SEA pilot program. Â
Swedish EIA Centre o The Centre is situated at the Department of Urban and Rural Development at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The aim of the Swedish EIA Centre is to support an effective and efficient use of EIA and SEA.Â
   Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) o  The Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment is a state subsidized private foundation in the Netherlands. It provides capacity development and advisory services on environmental assessment. It offers services to Dutch government agencies as well as countries eligible for Dutch International Cooperation.Â
Advisory Group In order to assist in the evaluation, an Advisory Group was established. The Advisory Group will provide feedback on the overall evaluation design, the interim and draft reports of the evaluation, and assist the team in the dissemination of the evaluation results.  Members of the Advisory Group are internationally recognized specialists on environmental or institutional assessment linked to key constituencies at the interface of development and strategic environmental assessment.  Objectives The purpose of the evaluation is to draw lessons from the program's SEA pilots to further refine the I-SEA approach, increasing its effectiveness as a tool for integrating environmental considerations in development policies, and thus contributing to sustainable development outcomes and to more equitable development policies. The specific objectives of the evaluation are the following: Assess the application of the I-SEA approach in the SEA pilot program. Further develop methods and guidance for SEA application at the policy level. The donor community and key SEA specialists reflect on pros and cons of I-SEA as a tool for enhancing the environmental sustainability of development policies. Inform the implementation and updating of the OECD DAC Good Practice Guidance on SEA for Development Cooperation at the policy level.
  Scope Each pilot will be assessed in three dimensions: (1) context analysis, (2) methods and tools used, and (3) influence of I-SEA pilot. A conceptual analysis and evaluation framework      structured in three parts has been developed to guide the evaluation of the pilots. (Click here to submit you feedback) In the first part a conceptual model of I-SEA is outlined. The second part covers literature on policy processes, environmental priorities, stakeholder representation, institutional capacity, social accountability and social learning that are relevant to the I-SEA steps outlined. Based on this analysis, in the third part a framework for evaluating the I-SEA pilots is proposed. The results of the evaluation of the individual pilots will be cross-analyzed at two levels. The first level of cross analysis would focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the I-SEA model to influence policy processes and planning.Accordingly, recommendations will be formulated to adjust/refine this approach. The second level of analysis would drill down deeper into the methods and tools for effective I-SEA. It will focus on the specific tools or elements currently recommended for I-SEA to evaluate their advantages and constraints and to identify potential gaps in the existing I-SEA methodological toolkit. It is expected that the analysis will shed light on how different levels of institutional and economic development may or may not condition the methods and tools for effective I-SEA. The main result from this level of analysis would be guidance for applying I-SEA in developing countries. The figure below shows the schematic approach for the evaluation. 
 Dissemination
The results of the evaluation would be disseminated widely to the global community of SEA practitioners, development specialists and within the Bank. The evaluation report and recommendations would be jointly published by the Bank, EEU, the Swedish EIA Centre and NCEA. Lessons learned from the Pilot Program will continuously be disseminated to the OECD DAC SEA task team. The evaluation report would be also disseminated through this website and the online SEA database of the NCEA. EEU and the Swedish EIA Centre will take initiatives to disseminate the results within SIDA. Workshops or other dissemination activities would be also arranged at SIDA and the Dutch Development Cooperation, other development agencies, and other venues for discussion of sustainable development issues and environmental assessment. The results could be the basis for one or more scientific papers to be submitted to specialized journals. An international conference on policy based SEA would be held to disseminate the results of the evaluation to the global SEA community. The venue and dates of this conference would be coordinated with the OECD DAC SEA task team, probably taking advantage of one of the task team meetings. Participation of representatives of client countries is expected and would be encouraged. In the Bank, preliminary and final results of the evaluation would be used to organize workshops, training sessions and conferences. The target audience in the Bank would be task managers, sector and environmental specialists. Â Public Feedback As part of the evaluation program, we are inviting public comments through transparent learning mechanisms. We would like to invite comments from development practitioners within and outside the Bank who have an active interest in I-SEA, as well as specific knowledge and experience in SEA work. We seek your comments because we wish to: Identify and learn from the full range of views at the policy-level from experienced SEA practitioners. Enhance transparency by making our findings available to all, as well as offer opportunities to post comments.
The public comments period is from April 1, 2009 through Mid-2010. Please comment on the document below. Please spread the word about the report with colleagues and partners and encourage them to provide us with feedback. Please note that comments are moderated, and will not appear until they have been reviewed.
 Two-day Workshop for the Evaluators of the Institution-centered SEA Pilot Programs (June 10-11, 2009)   Click here to submit your feedback |
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