Checklist for issues, objectives, policies and methods

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Checklist for issues/objectives

	Yes/No
Is the issue a resource management issue?
Is the issue a significant one in the district/region/nationally?
Will addressing the issue in the plan be effective?
Does the issue need to be addressed in the plan?
Does the objective clearly state the outcome that your council wants?

Checklist for policies

	Yes/No
Will the policy if implemented effectively, make a significant contribution to achieving the objective?

Checklist for methods (including policies)

	Method	Method 2 (if assessment required)	Method 3 (if assessment required) etc
Effectiveness in achieving the objectives and purpose of the RMA
Environmental benefits
Environmental costs
Economic costs
Economic benefits
Social costs
Social benefits
Efficiency
Risk of acting or not acting
Appropriateness

 

The answers to the questions associated with each cell in the above matrix for methods can be text, rankings or quantitative assessments.

Often decision-makers inadvertently tend to give quantitative information more importance or authority than qualitative information. If the information to be presented is mix of qualitative and quantitative, it is generally preferable to present it in a format that mixes the two rather than separating them. This makes it harder for the decision-maker to inadvertently exclude the qualitative aspects.