Assessing Social and Distributional Impacts in Transport Scheme Appraisal

Assessing Social and Distributional Impacts in Transport Scheme Appraisal

Author:
Atkins
Publisher:
Department for Transport
Date published:
29 March 2010

Summary

Foreword by Gillian R Smith, Head of Social Research and Evaluation Division, Department for Transport

The Department for Transport is in the process of improving its appraisal guidance to better capture the social and distributional impacts (SDIs) of transport schemes.  The importance of understanding and measuring the social impacts of transport, both in absolute terms and how they distribute across different social groups and places, is increasingly recognised by the Department.  Specifically, including an analysis of SDIs within the appraisal of transport schemes will enable the Department's decision making to encourage schemes that minimise the negative impacts upon society, whilst enhancing the positives.

Social Research and Evaluation (SRE) division has spent a number of years developing its evidence base to improve the Department's understanding of the needs, issues and social impacts of transport on a wide range of potentially vulnerable groups.  This work has increased our understanding of the issues that appraisal guidance needs to capture.  This programme has so far:

  • Identified and prioritised a range of social impacts resulting from transport
  • Explored how these social impacts affect, both intentionally and unintentionally and positively and negatively, different groups within society.
  • Developed a methodology for investigating and capturing SDIs within appraisal analysis.

This report presents the findings from the final phase of the research programme to enable SDIs to be better reflected in the Department's appraisal system.  The final stage has:

  • Piloted, tested and refined a detailed, yet proportionate, methodology for ensuring SDIs are encapsulated within appraisal analysis.
  • Developed a set of new and refined WebTAG units for use by scheme promoters to identify and present SDIs within their analysis.

In particular, the report presents the evidence underpinning the developed methodology and the findings of all work conducted to test and develop the final guidance.

The WebTAG units developed within this research programme are available separately and went 'in draft' in January 2010 following consultation as part of the New Approach To Appraisal (NATA) orderly release process.  This report relates specifically to the development of the WebTAG guidance launched in 2010 and does not reflect any possible future refinements and/or amendments to the SDI guidance.  Readers are therefore referred to the WebTAG units themselves for up to date guidance on incorporating SDIs within appraisal analysis.

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