Developing tools for evaluating economic and social impacts of policy measures and scenarios
☀︎ With the overall aim of providing sound socio-economic evidence for informed decision-making, we develop methodological and information tools for evaluating economic and social impacts of policy measures and scenarios.
☀︎ These tools aim at identifying the most efficient solutions and covering relevant socio-economic impacts (positive and negative, direct and indirect, impacts on various sectors and groups of society).
☀︎ We develop and apply:
- methodological tools that support decision-making, such as scenario building, cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit and multi-criteria analysis;
- information tools that support policy making, e.g. systematized information databases.
☀︎ We have extensive experience in the development and application of such tools, particularly in the contexts of protection and management of aquatic (marine and freshwater) environments and related biodiversity, including on evaluation of measures and policy scenarios in relation to diverse pressures (e.g. nutrient pollution, hydro-morphological pressures, marine litter) and water uses (e.g. coastal recreation, marine protected areas).
☀︎ We develop the tools in close collaboration with relevant experts, stakeholders and policy makers to address policy needs and relevant socio-economic impacts.
Examples of our work in this area (please see the section of our Projects and Publications for more information)
- Involvement in development of the Baltic Sea region scale methodology and assessment on cost-effectiveness analysis of measures as part of the HELCOM ACTION project.
- Involvement in preparation of the Baltic Sea region databases on costs of measures and valuation studies on benefits of improving state of the marine environment as part of the HELCOM BLUES project.
- Development of national methodologies and assessments for economic evaluation (cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis) of potential new measures for the national updated MSFD program of measures in Latvia as part of the project “Improving knowledge on state of the marine environment”.
- Development of a socio-economic impact assessment methodology and assessment of polders and their management options in Latvia as part of the LIFE GoodWater IP project.
- Development of methodologies and assessments for economic evaluation (based on cost-effectiveness and other relevant impacts) of supplementary measures for a joint Estonian-Latvian river basin management plan as part of the project “Water bodies without borders” (WBWB).
- Involvement in evaluation of the existing decision support tools for management of the Baltic Sea ecosystem as part of the BONUS DESTONY project.