Tel. (709) 680-4192
Email: steveb@mun.ca

My main area of focus – both professionally and academically - is the field of Impact Assessment (IA), including the advancement, and integration, of both IA theory and practice.

I have over 25 years’ experience working in IA in industry, government and academia, including planning, managing and conducting IAs and associated study programs, public and Indigenous engagement initiatives, permitting, and monitoring / follow-up for proposed development projects in a variety of sectors and jurisdictions.

Research and Teaching Interests

IA theory and practice, with a particular emphasis on improving the efficacy of IA processes and methods. This includes the associated use of strategic and regional assessments and other approaches to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of IA use and its role in planning and decision-making.

Some specific areas of current interest and focus include those listed below. Inquiries from, and connections with, others that are currently working or otherwise interested in these areas are welcomed, including potential graduate students.

1. Strategic and Regional Assessments - including their associated goals, objectives, methods, outcomes and uses
2. Enhancing IA Efficiency – potential methods and tools for improving the procedural and analytical aspects of IA, particularly in its application to proposed renewable energy developments
3. IA as “Planning” not “Permitting” – Contextual factors (procedural, institutional, methodological, behavioral) that enable or impede IA being viewed and used (by proponents and others) as a planning process to inform and improve project design and implementation, rather than a required and onerous regulatory approval process.

Education

I hold a PhD in Strategic Environmental Assessment from the University of Dundee, Scotland as well as Masters and Bachelors Degrees in Geography from Memorial University

PhD, School of the Environment, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK. 2016

MA, Geography, Memorial University, 1998

BA (Hons), Geography, Memorial University, 1995

Select Publications and Presentations

I have published and presented extensively on IA theory and practice, some select examples of which are provided below.

Bonnell S, Chewinski M. 2026. Exploring the influence of experiential learning on IA practice: Understanding IA professionals’ views about the objectives and utility of strategic and regional assessments in subsequent project IAs. Environmental Impact Assessment Review https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108698

Bonnell S. 2026. Project IA scoping following a regional or strategic assessment: Workshop perspectives from Canadian federal IA regulators and authorities. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal. 44(3): 315-326.

Bonnell S. 2026. Strategic and regional assessments: Their potential influence on the scope and conduct of subsequent project assessments. Environmental Management. 76(3): 86-100.

Bonnell SJ, Daraio JA. 2026. Proponent decision-making about project design modifications to address environmental concerns identified during impact assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 120: 108497.

Bonnell, S. 2025. Chekhov’s gun and Occam’s razor: Improving impact assessment efficiency for renewable energy developments. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal. https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2025.2471609

Bonnell S. 2025. Improving impact assessment efficiency: Connecting research and practice in times of change. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 114: 107896

Bonnell S. 2025. Regional assessments under the Canadian Impact Assessment Act: Objectives, outcomes and lessons so far. Environmental Management. 75(11): 2994–3009.

Bonnell, S. 2025. Impact assessment as planning (not permitting): Factors affecting its potential to influence project design. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal. 43(6): 439-455.

Bonnell, S. 2025. Strategic environmental assessment: Its potential adoption and use in corporate strategic planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 69(9): 2895-2922.

Bonnell, S. 2025. Decision-making about project design changes during impact assessment review: Theories of corporate voluntary environmental behaviours. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 69(8): 2294-2324.

Bonnell, S. 2020 Project EA scoping in an SEA context: A case study of offshore oil and gas exploration in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 38((1): 50-56

Bonnell, S. 2003. Environmental assessment of forestry in Canada. The Forestry Chronicle, 79(6): 1067- 1070.

Bonnell, S., Leeder, C. and R. Pottle. 2002. Assessing the cumulative environmental effects of the Trans Labrador Highway (Red Bay to Cartwright): Methods, challenges and lessons. In: A. J. Kennedy (ed.). Cumulative Environmental Effects Management: Tools and Approaches. pp. 395-410. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Alberta Society of Professional Biologists.

Bonnell, S. and K. Storey. 2000. Addressing cumulative effects through strategic environmental assessment: A case study of small hydro development in Newfoundland, Canada. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 2(4): 477-499.

+ Well over 250 presentations at national and international conferences and other forums over the past two decades (academic, industry, government, others).

 

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