This research, supported by NatureScot and AEnvCoW and produced by Kara Moore (The University of Edinburgh), explores how Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) practice can, and should, evolve from a static prediction exercise into a learning, lifecycle process through monitoring, feedback and adaptive management.
The findings emphasise the critical need for reliable, independent evidence on whether mitigation measures work in practice through monitoring and feedback during delivery. This is directly relevant to Environmental Clerks of Works, whose on-site monitoring and reporting provide the feedback mechanism to assess the project's performance and feedback into the project for adaptive management. This approach can, and should, inform the wider industry and future projects, by treating EIA as a lifecycle process to help strengthen compliance and improve environmental outcomes over time, rather than the current status quo with prolific under-delivery of effective mitigation measures.
Research: Reframing EIAs in Scotland – One Page Summary
Research: Reframing EIAs in Scotland – Dissemination Summary
Research: Reframing EIAs in Scotland – Dissertation 
