Appraisal

Appraisal provides an assessment of whether a proposed project, programme or policy is worthwhile. This involves setting objectives, screening options, and identifying, quantifying and comparing the costs and benefits of action against a baseline of the current situation or business as usual. Using economic valuation techniques, appraisal is extended to include non-market environmental costs and benefits, and hence made directly comparable to financial costs.

This overall approach is tailored to suit different decision-making contexts such as:

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) which helps answer the dual questions of ‘should we do something about the issue in hand? And, if so, what should we do? ;

Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) which identifies the option that is likely to generate the highest benefit per £, or alternatively, the least costly option. CEA is most useful when deciding how to deliver an agreed objective;

Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment) which incorporates other implementation related issues (e.g. competitiveness, effect on small businesses, equity etc.) as well as costs and benefits; and

Assessment of Environmental Liability – with the implementation of the EU Environmental Liability Directive, assessment of environmental damage (in ecological or economic terms) and selection of remediation options to offset this damage are becoming more and more important. See our ongoing project for this at http://www.envliability.eu/

Economic appraisal is not intended to replace any other assessment but to generate further information for decision-makers in public and private sector. In fact, economic appraisal builds upon the information provided by other approaches such as life cycle analysis (LCA), strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA), and stakeholder consultation. Our expertise is applicable to all environmental media and sectors and we have experience in:

In addition to undertaking numerous appraisals of specific projects and policies, we have also written guidelines for several national and international agencies, outlining the methodology of different appraisal approaches and enabling them to make informed investment decisions. Some of these guidance documents were also accompanied by specifically tailored training programmes – the key to the successful implementation of a new guidance. We also have served as economic advisors to panels and steering groups managing policy change and large-scale investments.

For specific examples of our work in this area please visit our projects page.

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