📋 Tender Overview
On Thursday, November 30, 2023, the conference Spatial Impact Assessment: Introduction of Spatial Impact Assessment in Slovenia and different approaches to cross-border assessment took place in Ljubljana. The participants were welcomed by the Acting Director General of the Directorate for Space and Construction, dr. Nataša Bratina from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Space.
dr. Nataša Bratina emphasized the importance of using spatial impact assessments for greater effectiveness of public policy measures in addressing spatial development challenges. The inclusion of spatial impact assessment in the process of policy preparation contributes to the recognition of the peculiarities of different areas and the creation of spatially "specific" policies - policies that take into account the spatial, economic and social characteristics of individual areas. The conference is an excellent opportunity to present to the general professional public the purposes and goals of the assessment of effects on space and the various methodological approaches for its assessment.
The results of two projects were presented at the conference. The first project explored different methodological approaches to assessing the effects on space in the cross-border area as part of the international pilot activity for the implementation of the Territorial Agenda 2030. The second project focused on the development of a tool at the national level for assessing the alignment of state policies with the Spatial Development Strategy of Slovenia 2050, which was adopted this June in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.
In the first part, the participants learned about foreign assessment approaches, which were presented by partners from Poland, Germany and the Netherlands as part of the pilot activity for the implementation of the Territorial Agenda 2030. Slovenian cases were also presented, namely the case of the cross-border urban area of ??the Municipality of Nova Gorica, the municipalities of Šempeter - Vrtojba and Gorice in Italy, and the case of the rural border area of ??Obsotelje and Kozjansko.
In the second part of the conference, the participants learned about practice in the Slovenian area. The authors of the targeted research project on the topic of spatial impact assessment presented their findings and results, a method for assessing the effects on various social areas, which is used in the process of preparing and accepting government materials, and a modular tool to support these processes were presented. An assessment of the effects on cultural heritage was also presented.
The result of the targeted research project on the assessment of effects on space is a digital tool for assessing the alignment of sectoral policies and programs with the Spatial Development Strategy of Slovenia 2050 .
The participants of the conference also got acquainted with the assessment of the effects of the legislation at the federal level in Germany, where the verification of the provision of equivalent living conditions is mandatory.
Challenges and further developments in the field of the introduction of audits were highlighted at two round tables. The necessity and usefulness of judgments aimed at preventing potential unwanted spatial effects was emphasized. Since the knowledge about potential spatial effects depends on the characteristics of the space, which can be urban, rural, bordered, sparsely populated, coastal, etc., an assessment process is extremely important, in which knowledge and experience are exchanged between policy makers and stakeholders from different levels, who will felt the measures. It is also necessary to ensure the implementation of the decisions that were the result of the assessment even after its completion, which can range from changing legislation to linking financial resources. The positive experiences of judging should be better communicated and presented as an argument against the pursuit of quick decisions and shortening of deadlines. Discussants also cited examples of how the assessment identified a potentially undesirable spatial effect in the case of Internet coverage provision that policy makers could have corrected in time.
In addition to an overview of the situation and experience in the field of assessments, the conference brought new knowledge and considerations about new additional steps in the field of assessments, which can lead us to better legislation and policies for a more balanced, fair and green spatial development.
