ABSTRACT
Some of the most challenging and important cases for sustainability-based assessment are in applications to strategic initiatives. In the environmental assessment world, the term ‘strategic-level assessment’ often refers to special assessment obligations that are applied to proposed policies, plans and programmes. Such obligations are sometimes intended to be different from those at the project level. However, many plans and programmes are essentially operational and have no strategic dimension. At the same time, many project-level initiatives may qualify as strategically important because of their longer-term and broader outreach, range of substantially different options, and potential for major influence on associated and subsequent activities. In any case, what should really matter for strategic assessment is whether the policy-making, planning, programme development, or major project initiative actually has a strategic dimension. For such cases, two particular needs are evident. First, the assessments should adopt strategic thinking principles. Second, due to the inevitable complexities of so many issues, interests, options and outcomes, assessments should aim to be strongly focused, and reasonably simple and manageable.
