Improving the quality of Sustainable Development Projects

EASY-ECO Saarbrücken Conference
11-14 Oct 2006

This EASY-ECO Series Event is sponsored by:

Saarbrücken Conference brochure and call for papers (PDF, 716 kB)

Sustainable development does not just evolve from itself – it is the result of active political action. Without the implementation of innovative measures in the framework of projects and programmes neither the necessary institutional reforms nor the durable attitude changes necessary for realising the Agenda 21 can be reached. Nevertheless, not all innovations are successful, and not every success leads to desired sustainable effects. The main goal of evaluation research on the micro level of projects and programmes is the exploration of these effects, the causes of successes and failures and possibilities of improving the quality of measures.

Sustainable development is a global task to be achieved by local actions. Multi-level policies are required for the coordination of this conjoint acting and learning from difficulties as well as learning about solutions and best practices. The key to common success is knowledge of the effects and communicating this knowledge evidently. Without the development of appropriate scientific methods generating and processing such knowledge, sustainable development remains a utopian objective.

Evaluation of sustainable development is a complex task demanding interdisciplinary team work. New technical solutions must be developed, tested and implemented, for example to overcome the current waste of non-renewable resources. Technical solutions alone are not, however, sufficient. They have to be economically feasible and shaped in a socially acceptable way. Even the most appropriate technical solutions lead nowhere if they do not receive financing and acceptance by the public. This has to be realized early so as to give us time to develop adequate management procedures. Evaluation research decisively contributes to this by directing attention not only onto technical feasibility but also onto the efficiency of measures and their acceptance and utilisation by target groups.