After studying the SA skills course the students are able to:
* Apply some widely-used methods/tools of sustainability assessment;
* Discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and pitfalls of these methods/tools;
* Reflect on the contribution of the methods/tools to a sustainability assessment.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHOD(S) USED IN THIS COURSE IS WITH RESERVATION. A RE-EMERGENCE OF THE CORONAVIRUS AND NEW COUNTERMEASURES BY THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT MIGHT FORCE COORDINATORS TO CHANGE THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS USED. THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEACHING/ASSESSMENT METHOD(S) WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE COURSE SYLLABUS.

Sustainability Assessment (SA) can be defined as a structured process dealing with a sustainability issue, using knowledge from various scientific disciplines and/or stakeholders, such that integrated insights are made available to decision makers. Applying SA in practice requires specific skills. The aim of this skills course is that students learn to apply some widely-used methods/tools of SA, and become familiar with its rules of application, strengths, and pitfalls.

Stakeholder participation and citizen involvement are considered increasingly important in today’s research and decision making. When dealing with complex issues such as sustainable development, it is unlikely that single actors have all the knowledge to properly define problems, to identify solutions, to assess these solutions and to evaluate the outcomes.
In this skills course you learn how to use Participatory methods in the different steps of a sustainability assessment trajectory. You will also learn to critically reflect upon the concept, and use, of participation. The emphasis of this course is on practicing skills that will make you feel more familiar and acquainted with the concept, and organization, of participation. After familiarizing yourself with some theoretical background knowledge, you will practice with developing a stakeholder analysis, developing a participatory process design, and the construction of a workshop script. At the end of the course you will organize and simulate a workshop session with your fellow students. You will use one or more participatory techniques to achieve the intended results.