Framework for Evaluation of the 2003 Air Transport White Paper Policies: Peer Review of Final Report
This note has been prepared at the request of the Department for Transport. It offers an assessment of the final report on the framework for evaluation of the Air Transport White Paper 2003 prepared by NERA Economic Consulting.
The brief for the study was a demanding one, but the final report meets all of its key requirements and provides a robust assessment of the framework that will need to be put in place in order to deliver on the Department’s commitment to evaluate the policies set out in the White Paper.
Its primary audience will be those within the Department who are given responsibility for commissioning and managing the evaluations. But it is written in a style which will also be accessible to the aviation industry and other stakeholders with an interest in the evaluations.
The literature review is comprehensive and reflects current good practice. It proposes that evaluators draw on a range of relevant methodologies and offers a robust and pragmatic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
The report identifies a number of gaps in the existing data and highlights the skills which will be needed for different kinds of evaluation. The language used is consistent with relevant Government reports and policy statements. And the consultants make important recommendations relating to the overall management of the evaluations and the dissemination of findings.
In my judgement this is therefore comprehensive report which has fulfilled the Department’s stated requirements and will be able to stand up to rigorous public scrutiny.
Professor Steve Martin
Cardiff Business School
8th November 2007
