Determining effectiveness in heritage impact assessments

As a result of ratifying the World Heritage Convention, signatory parties undertake to protect World Heritage properties by ensuring that there is no impact on outstanding universal value (OUV). Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) has been developed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) as a tool to identify threats to OUV, but there are concerns that the focus on HIA effectiveness is too procedural and not substantively focused on protecting the attributes that are recognized as being OUV. This paper discusses the application of a framework to determine the effectiveness of (cultural) heritage impact assessments, distinguishing significance, change agents, management, impact and effectiveness assessments, to better address potential shortcomings.