Coming home; a personal re-evaluation of the aspirations and utility of Integrated Assessment.

The early phases of any new initiative are exciting times, full of enthusiasm, anticipation, and promise. Whilst the field of Integrated Assessment (IA) retains many of these features, it is now, as an intellectual project, moving into maturity and middle age; an appropriate moment, perhaps, for reflection and self analysis. In presenting a personal view of the ambition and application of IA, this contribution adopts a very simple compositional structure which allows us to present a dialogue between objectives and practice. It is a revised version of a paper delivered to the EFIEA/TIAS conference in Berlin in February 2005 and is informed by the debate conducted following its presentation. Following a review of why we conduct IA and some of the attendant practical challenges, the text goes on to describe an example of IA research in the field of water management. Conclusions reflect on the role of IA in the context of contemporary developments in theories of knowledge creation and socionatural systems management