A dual-level framework for evaluating integrated coastal management beyond labels

Despite many efforts in the past 10 years, Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) evaluation remains much of a challenge. Building on theoretical resources provided by three bodies of work (strategic analysis of environmental management, integrated coastal management and evaluation of public policies), this paper first underlines some of the most critical weaknesses and “black boxes” in current ICM evaluation. It explains why a single purpose program evaluation model is unsatisfactory, and how it hinders evaluation in practice. It then suggests ways to re-think ICM evaluation, proposing a dual-level framework that combines evaluation of ICM initiatives with evaluation of coastal management systems.