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Abstract
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Background
This presentation will describe a novel and innovative methodology for optimising the health and sustainability effects of a plan or policy through impact assessment. Following the 2010-2011 earthquakes disaster in Christchurch, the New Zealand government instructed the Canterbury Regional Council to develop a Land Use Recovery Plan. To ensure that the Plan would deliver land use which supported healthy living and healthy transport options, the Regional Council collaborated with the Christchurch City Council and the local public health authority to perform an integrated assessment of the health and sustainability effects of the Plan.
Methods
The assessment methodology was originally developed for assessing the impact of water management policy. The assessment team developed 37 draft criteria by which to assess the Plan. Each of the criteria had an accompanying description, e.g. "Well-functioning public transport system", and a five point scale from, e.g. "-1 The Plan hinders provision for an integrated public transport system" to "+3 The Plan ensures an accessible integrated public system and accounts for future growth and constraints". The criteria were used to facilitate two workshops to assess the health and sustainability impacts of the draft Plan and a revised Plan respectively. At the workshop, health, sustainability, and planning experts, and other stakeholders discussed and amended the draft criteria, assessed the Plan according to the criteria, and provided recommendations to help improve the Plan. Qualitative surveys and in-depth interviews with thematic analysis were conducted to capture the experiences of workshop participants, assessment team members, and Plan authors. To assess efficacy, the final plan was checked against the recommendations from each workshop.
Results
The assessment resulted in substantial improvements to the health impact of the Plan. Almost all recommendations were adopted in the Plan, and the Plan authors relied heavily on feedback from the workshops. The evaluation found that the criteria assessment methodology:
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Promoted discussion and facilitated agreement on consensus recommendations. Plan authors found the consensus recommendations easier to interpret than the broad range of opinions generated by traditional consultation.
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Promoted collaboration among a multidisciplinary group of influential people involved in the Christchurch earthquake rebuild, including minority groups, local government, health agencies, and the private sector.
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Allowed participants to have input into a very early draft of the Plan.
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Gave participants a sense of ownership over the Plan.
Conclusions
The criteria methodology generates useful recommendations for transport planners, while also supporting collaboration between local government and health agencies.
Language: en |