Equality Impact Assessment

EIA Toolkit

A practical guide to assess the impact functions, policies and procedures have on different groups of people

With thanks to Sport Scotland

Contents

  1. Introduction to EIA
  1. Initial Screening
  1. Full EIA

1. Introduction to Equality Impact Assessment (EIA)

What is an EIA?

EIA is a tool to help us ensure that our policies, functions and practices do not have a negative impact on equalities groups, including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.

EIA involves the gathering of evidence, consultation with people from different groups and analysis of impact. It will also require consideration of the changes necessary to address any negative or unintended impacts, and, the changes necessary to actively promote equality for the various equality groups.

Why do we need to do EIA?

SportWales is committed to Equality and understands the need to embed the principles of this agenda in all that we do. Research shows that there are differential participation rates between equalities groups.

Using the equality impact assessment framework on new and proposed polices will expose any unintended consequences and/or effects that could undermine or prevent the achievement of stated policy aims (e.g.: participation could be lower than expected.) The EIA will prompt consideration of ways that this can be avoided or monitored from the earliest stages and provide a framework for action.

EIAalso helps us to meet our legal requirements under the public sector duties in the Equality Act 2010. Failure to assess the likely impact of new or ongoing work could lead to legal challenge as well as the inability of services to provide for those who need them most.

There may well be policy initiatives that are assessed as having no specific impact on anybody from a disadvantaged community, but it is essential that the process outlined is followed and that evidence for this decision is outlined.

Partnership working

Sport Wales’s core objectives to increase participation and improve performance provide an opportunity for strategic leadership across a range of activities and functions e.g.: People development, resource/programme development, communications,sports development, performance. This means that we need to impact assess policies, functions, frameworks, programmes, strategies and plans.

What is meant by a policy?

‘Policies’ is the legal term used in the statutory Codes of Practice on the three duties, and is intended to be an umbrella term, which covers all functions and activities.

‘Policy’ does not simply mean formal written policies e.g. remote working policy or disciplinary policy, although these are included in the definition.

Some examples of ‘policies’ in Sport Wales might include:

  • Procurement procedures
  • Recruitment and selection procedures
  • Criteria for investing in NGBs
  • Corporate plan and business plan
  • Active Young People programmes
  • Active Adults programmes
  • Volunteering programmes
  • LAPA plans
  • The website and intranet
  • Grant schemes

Who should carry out EIA?

The person carrying out the EIA should be the staff member who would normally be developing/reviewing policy, as they have the expertise in that policy area. They may wish to work with another colleague who has knowledge of the way that policy is implemented and experienced on the ground.

When should an EIA be carried out.

EIA should be carry out ‘Project Set Up Stage’ , without full information this may well be a screening exercise. A follow up EIA should be undertaken as the policy is reviewed. (As part of the system for monitoring progress.)

Please refer to PPD Project Management Tool.

2. Initial Screening at the ‘Project Set Up Stage’

To determine whether a full EIA is required, you will need to complete an initial screening. Some policies, activities or functions are of minimal impact, relevance to the equality considerations and do not affect people e.g. accounting policies. In this case an initial screening will justify not conducting a full EIA. In some cases there is insufficient evidence at this time to conduct a full EIA, in this case an initial screening should be undertaken, which should identify when the full EIA will be completed.

Initial screening process

Initial Screening Form

Title of function, policy, procedure or activity

/ COACHING STRATEGY
Who is undertaking the screening?
  • Department
  • Lead officer
  • Others involved in the assessment
/ Main Contact –Coaching and Volunteering Steering Group
Others involved:
Sport Wales – Coaching & Volunteering Implementation Group
Attendees at the Equality Impact Assessment training day – 9th Sept 2010 (Sport Wales PPD department)
What is the purpose of the activity, function policy? / State Sport Wales aspirations for coaching
Set direction for coaching for the period 2010-2016
Influence partners
Direct Sport Wales coaching investment
Who is affected by the policy, activity or function and/or who is intended to benefit from it? / Those benefiting = coaches, indirectly; athletes, participants, children and young people.
Those affected =
1. WAG &Sport Wales
2. National Governing Bodies, Local Authorities, HE/FE,
3. Sports leaders, URDD, Disability Sport Wales
Clubs, community groups, education
Is there enough evidence at this stage to indicate that there is a positive or negative impact on a particular group? / Yes, sufficient evidence available for the groups that are seen as a priority in relation to Sport Wales’s Equality Outcomes.
If there is sufficient evidence, does it show a positive or negative impact on the different groups? / Both negative and positive impact has been indentified
When will a full EIA be undertaken
If a full EIA is not needed, what are the reasons for this? / Yes, full EIA to be undertaken simultaneously
Date of screening / Initially – 9/9/10, finalised 23/1/11

3. Full Equality Impact Assessment

Step 1 / Define the aims of your programme, policy, function or activity
Step 2 / Gather evidence about the needs and/or experiences of equality groups that may be impacted by the policy
Step 3 / Analyse how the policy might impact positively or negatively on the different groups
Step 4 / Consider what else you need to know to help you understand the diverse needs and/or experiences of your target audience
Step 5 / Based on the work you have done – rate the level of relevance of your policy for the equality strands and rate the level of potential impact – HIGH, MEDIUM OR LOW.
Step 6 / Make changes to your policy, where identified,or indicate the timescale for the changes
Step 7 / Consider whether further impact assessment is required
Step 8 / Outline how you will monitor and evaluate this policy to measure progress.
Step 9 / Sign off, summarise and send off.

Before you start, you will require knowledge of the following where available;

For EIA of non-employment policies

  • Findings of research that have informed the policy.
  • Participation data/trends that have informed the policy.
  • Sport Wales Vision and Aspirations.
  • Business Case, project mandate.
  • Results of consultation/feedback on the policy, programme, function or activity.
  • Details of your system for monitoring progress.
  • Strategy for financial management.

For EIA of employment policies

  • Information about different employment patterns, pay rates and results of a pay audit or review
  • Your equal pay policy
  • Polices for grievance and discipline
  • Rules covering entitlement to and payment of expenses
  • Personal performance planning system
  • Sickness absence policy
  • Employee terms and conditions
  • Eligibility criteria for promotion
  • Results of staff consultation or surveys
  • Details of your system for monitoring and reviewing
  • Analysis of current data on grievance and discipline

Step One

Define the aims of the programme, policy, function or activity

The first step of the impact assessment process is to identify the outcomes that the policy is designed to achieve, and to show how the policy links to the organisation’s overall responsibilities and objectives. This stage should be straightforward, as all policies should already have clear aims.

Title of programme, policy, function or activity / COACHING STRATEGY
Department / n/a
Lead officer
Authorisation (Head of service or Director) / Coaching and Volunteering Steering Group
Date: / 7/10/10
What is the purpose of the policy (or purpose of changes to be made to the policy)? / State Sport Wales aspirations for coaching
Set direction for coaching for the period 2010-2016
Influence partners
Direct Sport Wales coaching investment
Who is affected by the policy, or who is intended to benefit from the proposed policy and how? / Those benefiting = coaches, indirectly athletes, participants
Those affected =
1. WAG &Sport Wales
2. National Governing Bodies, Local Authorities, HE/FE,
3. Sports leaders, URDD, Disability Sport Wales
Clubs, community groups, education
How has the policy been, or will be put into practice, and who is or will be responsible for delivering it? / All of the sport sector. Within Sport Wales this will specifically mean the following accountable groups:
Sport Wales Coaching and Volunteering Steering Group will have responsibility for the strategic delivery of the strategy
Coaching and Volunteering Implementation Group responsibility for implementation across Sport Wales – by working with partners (the entire sport sector)
Delivery will be undertaken by Sport Wales partners – as identified above
How does the policy fit into Sport Wales’s wider or related policy initiatives? / To meet Sport Wales aspirations of every child hooked on sport for life and a nation of champions, a coaching workforce is required. It directly relates to Sport Wales’s ‘A vision for sport in Wales’ and this strategy is the key driver behind the delivery of the priority ‘growing a skilled and passionate workforce’.
What is the timeframe for the policy? Have resources (i.e. financial/staff time) been allocated? / The strategy is from 2010 – 2016
Due to potential forthcoming budget cuts, the levels of funding towards the strategy may vary this will mean prioritisation within the strategy will need to take place
A staffing structure within Sport Wales has been established – Coaching Steering Group which sets and monitors the strategic direction for coaching and the Coaching Implementation Group which are responsible for the implementation of the strategy

Step Two

What kind of information do you have about the diverse needs and/or experiences of your target audience?

To understand the different needs and experiences of the people you are making policy for, you will need to gather the facts and figures about the target audience for your policy. It is important to know who will be affected by your policy or proposed changes to an existing policy and how.

Evidence may include data (facts, figures, research findings, etc) from your own information management systems or research, surveys, consultation exercises and engagement with various representative groups.

In the absence of research there may be anecdotal evidence, feedback from service users and affected groups or ongoing experience, which may indicate positive or negative impacts.

Points to remember:

  • Evidence may indicate that there may or may not be any equality impact associated with a policy.
  • The absence of evidence or indicators does not necessarily mean that there is no impact on equality.
  • Arrangements should be made to obtain the relevant information to help in the process of deciding whether or not a policy has a negative impact or whether the policy requires further, in-depth equality impact assessment.

Consultation/engagement/involvement is a key part of the process. The public sector equality duties require Sport Wales to involve, consult and engage with communities as widely as possible.

(Evidence can come from data, statistical sources, research, literature reviews, evaluation, focus groups or consultation)

Do you have information on:
Age / Yes / No
Disability / Yes / No
Gender / Yes / No
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender / Yes / No
Race / Yes / No
Religion and Belief / Yes / No
Socio-economic status / Yes / No
If you do have equality information indicate where it was gathered from:
Age / Evidence – Active Adults Survey 2008/09
Consultation – Consultation for the development of the strategy was undertaken, see appendix 1 for breakdown
Disability / Evidence - Active Adults Survey 2008/09
Consultation – Consultation meeting undertaken with Disability Sport Wales
Gender / Evidence – Active Adults Survey 2008/09
Consultation- for the development of the strategy was undertaken, see appendix 1 for breakdown
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender / Evidence- none
Consultation
Race / Evidence– none directly with respect to this policy. (Coaching) Sport Wales has conducted small scale consultation with BME community groups in Cardiff and the Sporting Equals BME literature review gives general info on barriers to participation in sport.
Consultation
Religion and Belief / Evidence - none
Consultation
Socio-economic status / Evidence – Active Adults Survey 2008/09
Consultation – Consultation for the development of the strategy was undertaken, see appendix 1 for breakdown

Step Three

What does the evidence (data/research/consultation)tell you about how this policy might impact positively or negatively on the different groups within the target audience?

In this section you should be looking at the information you have collected to assess what it is telling you about the needs of different groups of people, i.e. whether their needs would be met by your policy (or changes to an existing policy) and whether your policy (or changes to an existing policy) would affect some groups differently.

Some questions to consider whilst assessing the evidence:

  • How does the existing policy affect different groups and sections of those groups?
  • Will the impact of the proposed policy/function (changes to the policy) be the same or different for each group?
  • Is there any indication or evidence of higher or lower participation or uptake of programmes or services by different groups?
  • Are there any groups of people who are excluded from programmes?
  • Will the proposed changes be beneficial to some or all groups?
  • If the policy/change(s) to the policy are going to have an adverse/negative effect on any of the groups - could it amount to unlawful discrimination?

Positive / Negative / Neutral / Justification: (Details of research, evidence, consultation to support your answer)
Age / X / X / The research identifies which ages are more likely to coach and volunteer in sport. This will provide direction in terms how future volunteers and coaches are recruited. The strategy will prioritise where we biggest difference will be made and therefore positively will recruit from those age groups which are shown to be most likely to engage in coaching and volunteering. Negatively those age groups that are shown to be less likely to coach or volunteer will not proactively be pursued.
Disability / X / The research identifies that there are a small number of people with a disability that coach of volunteer. This strategy will have a positive effect on increasing the opportunities available via a partnership approach with disability sport wales, local authority disability development officers
Gender / X / Volunteering in a school environment is reasonably equal between genders but women are far less likely to volunteer (and even less likely to coach) in a sports club environment. The strategy will take proactive steps to increase the number of female coaches in sports clubs. It must be acknowledged that this is also a similar trend for sports participation so any interventions made to increase female participation rates should also be matched by interventions to volunteering
Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual & Transgender / No data / information available at the time of undertaking the EIA
Race / No data / information available at the time of undertaking the EIA that directly relates to coaching. However Sport Wales do collect data on Race, via those coaches that attend sports coach UK courses (this is only a small number of coaches, approx 200 per year. This has not been analysed.
Religion and Belief / No data / information available at the time of undertaking the EIA
Socio-economic status / X / X / The data identifies the most likely socio economic grouping to get involved in coaching and volunteering. The strategy will proactively target the following groups based on this data:
Parents
People with skills
Those with a passion for sport
It also raises questions about students of which more information will be required. Whilst the most likely group to seek opportunities, students give less time. More research is required before any decision can be made on whether the strategy should do more / less to recruit students

Step Four

What else do you need to know about to help you understand the diverse needs and/or experiences of your target audience?

Do you believe that there is a potential issue for an equality group (or strands) that may require further exploration? Are there any gaps in data, i.e.:

  • Is there a group of people for whom you have little or no information?
  • If so, how do you know how the policy will impact on them?
  • Have you consulted with the right people and asked the right questions?
  • Have you asked your colleagues in research for relevant data?
  • Would it be more helpful if data were disaggregated by different categories (i.e. age, disability, religion and belief, gender, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), race, socio-economic status)?

Things to be considered:

  • How are you going to fill the gaps in knowledge?
  • Do you need: more data; the data you have to be disaggregated; some research carried out?
  • How will you get the data?
  • Do you need to consult interested parties?
  • Who will you consult with?

Evidence