LESSONS LEARNED – Co-construct the assessment

Assessment, as a product, is the integration of all information and representations to communicate a common vision. This vision is not necessarily a consensus, but rather the recognition of key components and interactions, as well as different interests and perspectives on it.

The primary objective is to contribute to public debate and decision-making. It must therefore be communicable to many target audiences, accessible by non-specialists, and sufficiently knowledge-based for specialists and legitimised by the managers who have participated in its construction. The objective is not to propose or justify a particular action, but to share a diagnosis and alternatives for a particular environmental policy issue.

In this highly technical integration phase, care must be taken to maintain interaction with the stakeholder forum to avoid missing someone’s point of view and reducing the effectiveness of the participatory assessment.