ABSTRACT
In many instances, SEA is not the only assessment instrument used in policy, plan and programme making processes, but is conducted next to other assessment and planning tools (Fischer, 2006a; West et al., 2011). Whenever this is the case, it is important that different assessments recognize each other and link up (Murayama, 2011). If this isn’t achieved, they could end up working to different objectives. As a consequence, assessment effectiveness, and ultimately the quality of the assessed policy, plan or programme could be undermined. Furthermore, if recommendations provided in different policies, plans, programmes and their assessments are inconsistent or even incompatible, they will not be perceived as being helpful and, as a consequence, may be ignored.
