Ismael Velasco | University of Brighton (original) (raw)

Books by Ismael Velasco

Papers by Ismael Velasco

Centre for Legal Research • Working Paper No. 4, Jun 2013

Youth and violence is a pervasive phenomenon that conjures up various images. The two most common... more Youth and violence is a pervasive phenomenon that conjures up various images. The two most common images that come to mind when thinking about this notion are those of children involved in armed conflicts i.e. child soldiers, and of groups of children engaging belligerently in illegal activities in urban locations i.e. youth in gangs. Whilst both groups represent distinctive facets of the phenomenon of youth and violence, the question which this report addresses is whether there are any parallels which can be drawn between the two.

This paper argues that the need for a core ―fourth pillar‖ of sustainability/sustainable developm... more This paper argues that the need for a core ―fourth pillar‖ of sustainability/sustainable development, as demanded in multiple arenas, can no longer be ignored on the grounds of intangibility. Different approaches to this vital but missing pillar (cultural-aesthetic, religious-spiritual, and political-institutional) find common ground in the area of ethical values. While values and aspects based on them are widely assumed to be intangible and immeasurable, we illustrate that it is possible to operationalize them in terms of measurable indicators when they are intersubjectively conceptualized within clearly defined practical contexts. The processes require contextual localization of items, which can nonetheless fit into a generalizable framework. This allows useful measurements to be made, and removes barriers to studying, tracking, comparing, evaluating and correlating values-related dimensions of sustainability. It is advocated that those involved in operationalizing sustainability (especially in the context of creating post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals), should explore the potential for developing indicators to capture some of its less tangible aspects, especially those concerned with ethical values.

Highlights ► We test a new toolkit for evaluating processes and outcomes related to values ► Base... more Highlights
► We test a new toolkit for evaluating processes and outcomes related to values ► Based on localizable indicators and mixed-methods evaluation ► Combines participatory, process-based and utilization-focused approaches to M&E ► Useful in diverse civil society organizations, with potential for wider application ► Enhances ‘process use’ benefits of evaluation

A novel toolkit has been developed, using an original approach to develop its components, for the purpose of evaluating ‘soft’ outcomes and processes that have previously been generally considered ‘intangible’: those which are specifically values based. This represents a step-wise, significant, change in provision for the assessment of values-based achievements that are of absolutely key importance to most civil society organisations (CSOs) and values-based businesses, and fills a known gap in evaluation practice. In this paper we demonstrate the significance and rigour of the toolkit by presenting an evaluation of it in three diverse scenarios where different CSOs use it to co-evaluate locally relevant outcomes and processes to obtain results which are both meaningful to them and potentially comparable across organisations. A key strength of the toolkit is its original use of a prior generated, peer-elicited ‘menu’ of values-based indicators which provides a framework for user CSOs to localise. Principles of participatory, process-based and utilization-focused evaluation are embedded in this toolkit and shown to be critical to its success, achieving high face-validity and wide applicability. The emerging contribution of this next-generation evaluation tool to other fields such as environmental values, development and environmental sustainable development, shared values, business, education and organisational change is outlined.

This research was funded by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (Grant No. 212237. The sponsor had no involvement in the design or conduct of the research; in the preparation of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

This descriptive report outlines an innovative project in which Earth Charter International is ac... more This descriptive report outlines an innovative project in which Earth Charter International is actively involved. The project aims to develop approaches, indicators and tools for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to be able to measure values-based aspects and impacts of their work at the project level. Many CSOs have an intuitive feeling that their projects are more successful when there is a resonance of values with those involved; this project aims to make such aspects tangible, measurable and transferable to other CSOs. The two year, EU-funded project called ESDinds is characterised by a collaborative partnership between a geographically and culturally diverse consortium consisting of four CSOs (including the Earth Charter International Secretariat) and two universities. The research design takes an iterative, grounded research approach to indicator development.


Centre for Legal Research • Working Paper No. 4, Jun 2013

Youth and violence is a pervasive phenomenon that conjures up various images. The two most common... more Youth and violence is a pervasive phenomenon that conjures up various images. The two most common images that come to mind when thinking about this notion are those of children involved in armed conflicts i.e. child soldiers, and of groups of children engaging belligerently in illegal activities in urban locations i.e. youth in gangs. Whilst both groups represent distinctive facets of the phenomenon of youth and violence, the question which this report addresses is whether there are any parallels which can be drawn between the two.

This paper argues that the need for a core ―fourth pillar‖ of sustainability/sustainable developm... more This paper argues that the need for a core ―fourth pillar‖ of sustainability/sustainable development, as demanded in multiple arenas, can no longer be ignored on the grounds of intangibility. Different approaches to this vital but missing pillar (cultural-aesthetic, religious-spiritual, and political-institutional) find common ground in the area of ethical values. While values and aspects based on them are widely assumed to be intangible and immeasurable, we illustrate that it is possible to operationalize them in terms of measurable indicators when they are intersubjectively conceptualized within clearly defined practical contexts. The processes require contextual localization of items, which can nonetheless fit into a generalizable framework. This allows useful measurements to be made, and removes barriers to studying, tracking, comparing, evaluating and correlating values-related dimensions of sustainability. It is advocated that those involved in operationalizing sustainability (especially in the context of creating post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals), should explore the potential for developing indicators to capture some of its less tangible aspects, especially those concerned with ethical values.

Highlights ► We test a new toolkit for evaluating processes and outcomes related to values ► Base... more Highlights
► We test a new toolkit for evaluating processes and outcomes related to values ► Based on localizable indicators and mixed-methods evaluation ► Combines participatory, process-based and utilization-focused approaches to M&E ► Useful in diverse civil society organizations, with potential for wider application ► Enhances ‘process use’ benefits of evaluation

A novel toolkit has been developed, using an original approach to develop its components, for the purpose of evaluating ‘soft’ outcomes and processes that have previously been generally considered ‘intangible’: those which are specifically values based. This represents a step-wise, significant, change in provision for the assessment of values-based achievements that are of absolutely key importance to most civil society organisations (CSOs) and values-based businesses, and fills a known gap in evaluation practice. In this paper we demonstrate the significance and rigour of the toolkit by presenting an evaluation of it in three diverse scenarios where different CSOs use it to co-evaluate locally relevant outcomes and processes to obtain results which are both meaningful to them and potentially comparable across organisations. A key strength of the toolkit is its original use of a prior generated, peer-elicited ‘menu’ of values-based indicators which provides a framework for user CSOs to localise. Principles of participatory, process-based and utilization-focused evaluation are embedded in this toolkit and shown to be critical to its success, achieving high face-validity and wide applicability. The emerging contribution of this next-generation evaluation tool to other fields such as environmental values, development and environmental sustainable development, shared values, business, education and organisational change is outlined.

This research was funded by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (Grant No. 212237. The sponsor had no involvement in the design or conduct of the research; in the preparation of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

This descriptive report outlines an innovative project in which Earth Charter International is ac... more This descriptive report outlines an innovative project in which Earth Charter International is actively involved. The project aims to develop approaches, indicators and tools for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to be able to measure values-based aspects and impacts of their work at the project level. Many CSOs have an intuitive feeling that their projects are more successful when there is a resonance of values with those involved; this project aims to make such aspects tangible, measurable and transferable to other CSOs. The two year, EU-funded project called ESDinds is characterised by a collaborative partnership between a geographically and culturally diverse consortium consisting of four CSOs (including the Earth Charter International Secretariat) and two universities. The research design takes an iterative, grounded research approach to indicator development.