Enhancing Rural Innovation and Sustainability Through Impact Assessment: A Review of Methods and Tools

So Young Lee, José M. Díaz-Puente and Pablo Vidueira
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So Young Lee: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, E.T.S.I. Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Avda, Puerta de Hierro, 2 - 28040 Madrid, Spain
José M. Díaz-Puente: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, E.T.S.I. Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Avda, Puerta de Hierro, 2 - 28040 Madrid, Spain
Pablo Vidueira: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, E.T.S.I. Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Avda, Puerta de Hierro, 2 - 28040 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 16, 1-26

Abstract: Assessing impacts in innovation contexts/settings with the aim of fostering sustainability requires tackling complex issues. Literature shows that key sources of this complexity relate to the need to integrate the local context; identify the underlying problems; engage key stakeholders; and reflect on their feedback throughout the innovation process. A systematic literature review on innovation impact assessment reveals that social impacts have been the most studied, thus, where promising methods and tools were used. Nevertheless, there are many unresolved issues beyond assessing social impacts in innovation processes. Literature highlights that building on co-creating innovation processes that respond to stakeholders’ real needs and context, and adapting to changing circumstances by integrating timely feedback from stakeholders are two critical challenges calling for a systems thinking approach. This study proposes Developmental Evaluation (DE) as a systemic approach to evaluation which supports adaptive development in complex environments and that adds value by integrating continuous feedback from diverse stakeholders. As a non-prescriptive evaluation approach in terms of methods and tools, DE can provide meaningful guidance to use diverse methods and tools in furthering ongoing development and adaptation in innovation processes by linking the evaluation activities—impact assessment among them—with the DE principles that are situational, adaptive and continuously responsive.

Keywords: developmental evaluation; evaluation methods; impact assessment; innovation; sustainable rural development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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