Impact assessments gather evidence to determine the effects of products, programs, or projects on a population. They can measure individual or collective impacts and help organizations use resources effectively. The process involves determining the existing state, implementing a change, and measuring expected and unexpected impacts. Impact assessments can be used for government programs, consumer products, and are considered empirical evidence.
An impact assessment is the gathering and weighing of evidence to determine the impact of products, programs or projects on an affected population by a series of actions designed to change the status quo. These assessments can be used to draw evidence-based conclusions about whether introducing a change has a positive or negative effect. An impact assessment can calculate the average impact of change on individual users or customers, or it can collectively measure the overall benefits conferred on a group of people. Measuring these impacts can help government agencies, businesses or charities use resources more effectively.
The first step of the impact assessment process is to determine the existing state of affairs. This step typically occurs before making a change, in order to more accurately assess the post-change state. After implementing the change, the next step is to measure the impact or impacts. Expected and unexpected impacts are subsequently noted and analysed.
For example, an effort to provide government-sponsored free meals to children in need can be undertaken to improve children’s health. Nutritious food vouchers can be given to parents of children. When the impact assessment is subsequently evaluated, the researchers may find that the health of the target population has not improved as much as expected. Further investigation may reveal that the caretakers of the children had devised a barter system, in which parents exchanged food stamps for other essential non-food items, such as clothes or diapers.
As a result of the results, evaluation of the program revealed that the health benefits for the children were not as significant as the creators of the voucher program had hoped they would be. This is an example of measuring an impact on a defined set of specific individuals. A study of death rates from cigarette smoking before and after cigarette advertising bans would be an example of measuring the collective impact of the ban on a specific set of people who use all tobacco products.
An impact study can also focus on consumer products. Marketing researchers may attempt to estimate how receptive consumers will be to a new product, based on a company’s past introductions of similar products. A researcher may also focus an impact assessment on determining how a product can be used or what type of consumer might be more likely to use it. Sometimes, an impact assessment will produce unexpected results, demonstrating that the actual introduction of new practices or products can differ significantly from expectations. Impact assessments are used by many organizations and businesses and are considered a form of empirical evidence.
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