Child rights and wellbeing impact assessment external guidance and templates

Definition of a CRWIA

The CRWIA is an assessment process, tool and report through which the potential impacts of any proposed decision, including the development of policies, projects, programmes or services, have on children’s rights and wellbeing. This allows for these to be identified, analysed and recorded.

A CRWIA asks a range of questions to encourage and guide thinking around potential impacts. This includes questions around impacts on specific groups of children, potential positive and potential negative impacts, and how children have been engaged to obtain their views and inform decisions made.

The CRWIA uses two frameworks in its assessment:

• the UNCRC articles
• the eight wellbeing indicators (SHANARRI), which are key components in the values, principles and aims of the Getting it Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) approach

CRIAs are internationally recognised as a means of upholding and fulfilling children’s rights in the decision-making process. They are recommended by UNICEF, and are recognised as one of the general measures of implementation under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (the UNCRC) per General Comment No.5. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends that all levels of government - national, regional and local – complete a CRIA as part of their policy development. The Scottish Government’s use of CRWIAs is a vital means of upholding and respecting children’s rights.

CRWIA has many benefits including:

1. organisations consider the potential impact of policies/measures on children’s rights and wellbeing

2. CRWIA helps organisations to consider children’s views during the decision-making process in accordance with needs expressed by children themselves

3. assessment of potential impact is informed by existing evidence and research, and helps identify where there may be gaps in evidence

4. any potential negative impacts on children can be identified, mitigated against, and policy can be improved to uphold and advance the rights and wellbeing of children