Guide
Updates to the LandScale System
Find out what to expect when improvements are made to the LandScale system.
LandScale is constantly evolving. Improvements to the assessment framework, guidance documents, and the communication and claims policy may be introduced from time to time. Substantive changes to any published document trigger a version number change to all documents. This helps maintain consistency across all documents that can be associated with an assessment done under a specified version.
What Changes Trigger a New Version?
Changes that affect comparability between assessments, the way that results can be communicated, or significantly change the level of effort required to conduct an assessment will trigger either a first-level (e.g. X.0) or second-level (e.g. 1.X) change in the version.
A first-level change will be triggered when a very significant change is made to the assessment framework or requirements. For example:
- A pillar is added or removed
- A goal within a pillar is added or removed
- The number of required indicators within a single pillar or overall changes by >=25%
- A top-level requirement is added or removed, for example, the requirement for adjacency analysis for user-defined boundaries
- The thresholds for indicator completion required for any assessment milestone change by 20% or more
A second-level change will be triggered when significant change is made to the assessment framework or requirements. For example:
- The scope of an existing pillar is changed
- The meaning or scope of a goal is changed
- A required indicator or metric is added or removed
- A lower-level requirement is added or removed such as a documentation requirement or qualifications requirement for team members or reviewers
- The thresholds for indicator completion required for any assessment milestone change by <20%
What Happens When Changes Are Implemented?
We’ll update the website and platform when changes are made and inform current with guidance on how to act on the change:
- For published assessments, no change is required
- For assessments in-process that are at an early enough stage to adopt the new version, assessors may, at their discretion, implement the changes. However, they may also ask the LandScale team to continue to use the previous version, if the changes trigger an undue burden or will not substantially affect the results. In such cases, published assessments will be labeled with the appropriate version number that was followed.
- For updates to prior assessments, the assessor shall use the version that is current at the time that the repeat assessment is initiated. Where indicators or metrics have changed from prior versions, the assessor shall follow any instructions or guidelines provided to address version differences.
If you have any questions about changes to the LandScale system, please get in touch.
