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Pathfinder Kick-off Meeting
Introduction to AECOM & Sustainable Living Research Programme
Simon Hartley
1st March 2011
Content:
• General introduction to AECOM
• AECOM Sustainable Development Group
• Project Team Members
• Research Project Experience
• Overview of AECOM Approach to Sustainable Living
• AECOM’s Project Role & Responsibilities
Introduction to AECOM
• Global provider of professional technical and management support services involved in 6/10 of the world’s largest infrastructure projects
• Market leader in the delivery of: – Building & Civil Engineering– Transportation– Design & Planning– Corporate: Research & Intelligence– Water– Environment– Cost Consultancy & Programme Management– Energy services– Sustainable Development Group.
• Over 51,000 highly capable, professional staff, in 740 offices, spread over 100 countries – with approximately 110 staff based in Cardiff
AECOM SDG / R&I
• R & I comprise approximately 100 specialists with experience of conducting different types of research with variations of emphasis which broadly mirror AECOM service offering e.g. water; energy, etc
• SDG SW & Wales Team comprise 13 staff with expertise in sustainable energy; behaviour change; carbon management; building energy modelling; ventilation; education; policy development; Part L/F Building Regulations; Environmental Management & GIS;
Sustainable Living: Project Team Members
Edyta Redfern Samantha Lanham
Welsh Assembly Government
SWEA
Simon HartleyProject Director
Richard Redfern - Research Director
Programme Design
Action Research Data
Jeremy Hardin
SDGResearch & Intelligence
AECOM Project Team
Mark Morant - Project Manager
Evaluation Framework
Analysis
Steve Tarry
AECOM SDG
• The nature, level, diversity and scale of AECOM projects means we have experience of undertaking practical climate change mitigation & research projects in all sectors. Examples include:
– Domestic Energy• Great British Refurb, Micro CHP trials
– Transport• Freight Best Practice Programme; Safe Routes To Schools
– Food• London Borough Councils Food Strategies
– Water• Domestic water consumption and CSH research;
investigation into rainwater harvesting and SDS
• Domestic Energy
Evaluation of Whole House Assessment
– Welsh Assembly Govt
Research Project Experience
The Research Programme • Phase I: Short term
– Engagement– Identify possible Case Studies– Identify data sources– Set up evaluation processes– Identify Indicators of success (and possibly failure)
• Phase II: Medium term– Data collection– Look at inputs and outputs– Review evaluation approach
• Phase III: Longer term– Interim
• Look at outcomes and impacts• Review research approach
– Final• Look at outcomes and impacts• Address specific research questions
Overview: AECOM Approach to ‘Sustainable Living’
Phase One: to 31 March 2011
• Scoping phase / study
• Establish research objectives and questions– CO2e; approaches to community action; evaluate ‘models’ of
community based interventions, delivery by the programme management team; assess role of POs.
• Systematic research review – What are appropriate / likely projects to be evaluated? Which
groups able and willing to set targets and measure progress?
• Development of scheme typologies and case study options– Projects look at different sectors, 18 projects in different locations,
• Identification of key stakeholders– POs, local authorities, community groups, practitioners, business,
Research Questions in terms of:
• impacts: What levels of GHG emission reductions have been achieved?
• behavioural change contributing to outcomes: What changes in behaviour have been generated, how and why? Are these sustainable?
• community engagement: which project theme generated the greatest level of community engagement and why?
• penetration and sustainability: How does the delivery of impacts of different approaches vary between locations, across socio-economic groups and why?
• evaluating the different ‘models’ of community based project interventions: Which models / approaches are the most efficient in terms of costs/benefits?
• assessing delivery of the pathfinder project programme by POs and management team: What role did PO have in accelerating community projects / what approaches acted as barriers to meaningful dialogue and collaboration?
Overview: AECOM Approach to ‘Sustainable Living’
Phase One: Up to end of March 2011
• Develop process and impact evaluation framework
• Research indicator scoping– What are appropriate indicators?
• Dataset review– Are datasets available to monitor and measure?
• Process evaluation scoping and definition– What is community action? What processes will be analysed
(PO interventions; types of community group structures, etc?
• Theory of change outlines prepared– Develop robust framework to explore the logic behind what
happens in practice reflecting specific nature of initiatives taken
Overview: AECOM Approach to ‘Sustainable Living’
Phase One: Up to end of March 2011
• Pathfinder Officer Preparation
• Develop a matrix for case study identification– Each PO has 3 No. projects; WAG to select projects for detailed
research; all to contribute ideas regarding project selection– Typology of initiatives according to, for example:
• objective; target population; scheme ownership; location
• Develop pro-formas for case study scoping & data collection– All s/holders to participate, will be driven by need of community
project, researchers and additional WAG/LA work-stream
– Precise tools to be developed
• Prepare training materials and undertake initial training– Will provide detailed and focused research training
Monitoring and Recording
• Following initial engagement with Stakeholders– Focus will be on collating basic ‘headline’ data for each potential case study
(within a long list of, say, 120)– This will enable actual case studies to be selected for evaluation
• Criteria to be determined to facilitate the selection of final case studies – Criteria should allow comparisons to be made across candidate case studies– Should aim for a representative cross section of case studies, covering all
relevant sectors and differing approaches to community involvement, project development and delivery
• More detailed data will then to be recorded for selected case studies, to fully define and characterise the case study in advance of the evaluation phase
• The actual basic data to be collated will reflect the nature of the initiative and the criteria used for choosing between candidate case studies:
Overview: AECOM Approach to ‘Sustainable Living’ Phase Two: April 2011
• Primary Data Collection (by Pathfinder Officers):
• Collation of stakeholder communications, contacts and outputs– Descriptions of activities and reflect upon:
• what went well, didn’t go well and why not• what should be done differently next time and other information
• Community engagement records– Categorisation of initiatives:
• provides a focus for data collection• assists when reviewing the transferability of findings about similar
types of interventions
• Case study scoping and delivery records– case studies provide examples of inputs (intervention) /outputs
(initiatives delivered); evaluation will need to record, monitor and evaluate each of these accurately
Overview: AECOM Approach to ‘Sustainable Living’
Phase Two: April 2011
Theory of Change (prepared in liaison with Pathfinder Officers)
• Draft intervention mapping prepared (one for each type/sector of investment transport, energy, waste and water)
• Process mapping of roles and responsibilities
Ongoing Support to Pathfinder Officers
• Quarterly evaluation/research meetings
• Ad hoc training and support
• Dataset collation
Overview: AECOM Approach to ‘Sustainable Living’
Phase Two
Action Learning Group 1, Autumn 2011, 2 in Spring/Summer 2012, and 3 Autumn 2012 (in phase 3)
• Identify scope of meeting
• Identify presentations, working group topics, prepare material / facilitate sessions
• Prepare write up & feed into interim analysis of short term / interim outputs and outcomes including collation of PO outputs
Rationale
ObjectivesFeedback
AppraisalEvaluation
Monitoring
Implementation
Overview: AECOM Approach to ‘Sustainable Living’
Phase Three:
Validate Theories of Change
• Undertake cross-cutting analysis of change
• Test hypotheses generated in Phase 2
• Prepare updated mapping by investment sector
Ex-Post analysis of data
• Develop compendium of research
• Generate GIS based analysis
• Identify short term behavioural changes
AECOM: Project Role & Responsibilities
