The Malta Sociological Association expressed its disappointment that the public consultation process on the drug victims reform is being sensationalized and subjected to partisan interests. It would be much more fruitful to have a mature, evidence based deliberative process on this public consultation, involving different stakeholders.
On its part, the Malta Sociological Association recommends that this policy reform employs a social impact assessment in an ongoing process. The International Principles for Social Impact Assessment defines SIA as being “the processes of analysing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions”.
An SIA is an interdisciplinary process, and should employ various methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Social impact assessments should not be one-off exercises: To the contrary, they should be ongoing processes which engage with various stakeholders and which report back so as to ensure effective policy processes.
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| Image: TVM News |