Systemic evaluation of a community environmental management programme

Foote, Jeff; Ahuriri-Driscoll, Annabel; Hepi, Maria; Midgley, Gerald; Earl-Goulet, Judith

Abstract

Community environmental management (CEM) involves achieving environmental objectives through the facilitation of community partnerships, local dialogues, consultations and participative decision making. This is increasingly seen as a solution to some of the more complex environmental issues facing regulatory authorities. However, little has been written about how CEM programmes should be evaluated, and this is particularly concerning given that the establishment of a causal relationship between community participation and environmental outcomes is not straight forward. Anecdotal evidence suggests that CEM programmes have much potential, but the lack of a robust evidence-base for their effectiveness means that their role in resource management is often not well understood or well integrated with other environmental management tools and processes. This paper reports on a project that developed a novel, systemic CEM evaluation methodology and trialled it in an intervention with a regional council in New Zealand. The methodology has the potential to be adapted for other contexts where there is a need for more robust evidence of the value (or otherwise) of CEM.

Citation

Foote, J., Ahuriri-Driscoll, A., Hepi, M., Midgley, G., & Earl-Goulet, J. Systemic evaluation of a community environmental management programme

• Working Paper Type: Working Paper
• Deposit Date: Feb 24, 2017
• Journal: Research memorandum (University of Hull Business School) ; 97
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Series Title: Centre for Systems Studies Research Memorandum. Hull University Business School
• Series Number: 97
• Book Title: Systemic evaluation of a community environmental management programme
• Keywords: Community environmental management, Community operational research, Green OR, Multi-methodology, Problem structuring methods, Systemic evaluation
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/448819
• Additional Information: ISBN 978-1-906422-34-9
• Contract Date: Feb 24, 2017