Social Assessment and Development Planning

Social Impact Assessment

Social Impact Assessment includes the processes of analyzing, monitoring and managing the intended and unintended social consequences, both positive and negative, of planned interventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked by those interventions. Its primary purpose is to bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human environment.

SIA is best understood as an umbrella or overarching framework that embodies the evaluation of all impacts on humans and on all the ways in which people and communities interact with their socio-cultural, economic and biophysical surroundings. 

SIA thus has strong links with a wide range of specialist sub-fields involved in the assessment of areas such as: aesthetic impacts (landscape analysis); archaeological and cultural heritage impacts (both tangible and non-tangible); community impacts; cultural impacts; demographic impacts; development impacts; economic and fiscal impacts; gender impacts; health and mental health impacts; impacts on indigenous rights; infrastructural impacts, institutional impacts; leisure and tourism impacts; political impacts (human rights, governance, democratization etc.); poverty; psychological impacts; resource issues (access and ownership of resources); impacts on social and human capital; and other impacts on societies. As such, comprehensive SIA cannot normally be undertaken by a single person, but requires a team approach (source: IAIA)

Health Impact Assessment

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a practical approach used to judge the potential health effects of a policy, programme or project on a population, particularly on vulnerable or disadvantaged groups. Recommendations are produced for decision-makers and stakeholders, with the aim of maximizing the proposal's positive health effects and minimizing its negative health effects. The approach can be applied in diverse economic sectors and uses quantitative, qualitative and participatory techniques.

HIA provides a way to engage with members of the public affected by a particular proposal. It also helps decision-makers make choices about alternatives and improvements to prevent disease or injury and to actively promote health. It is based on the four interlinked values of democracy (promoting stakeholder participation), equity (considering the impact on the whole population), sustainable development and the ethical use of evidence. (source: WHO)

Gender Assessment and Planning

Gender impact assessment is the process of comparing and assessing according to gender relevant criteria, the current situation and trend with the expected development resulting from the introduction of proposed policy. 

Gender impact assessment is the estimation of the different effects (positive, negative or neutral) of any policy or activity implemented to specific items of gender equality.

Socio-Economic Survey

Socio-economic impact assessment (SEIA) is a useful tool to help understand the potential range of impacts of a proposed change, and the likely responses of those impacted if the change occurs. It can be used to assess impacts of a wide range of types of change, from a proposal to build a new freeway to a proposal to change access to a natural resource such as a forest or the ocean. This understanding can help design impact mitigation strategies to minimise negative and maximise positive impacts of any change. It is important to determine not only the full range of impacts, such as changes to levels of income and employment, access to services, quality of life, but also the implications of each particular change. Impacts of a certain proposal or policy are also distinct from, though influenced by, other activities which may be occurring. It is important therefore to identify the key source of impact and to separately identify impacts arising from other sources.

Resettlement Action Planning

The purpose of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) Framework Study is to prepare a policy framework for land acquisition and resettlement by taking appropriate social considerations as a basis for detailed study of land acquisition and resettlement to be conducted in the next stage, namely, the Basic Design stage. In order to achieve this propose, the RAP Framework is prepared by reflecting regional conditions, which are studied through site reconnaissance and a socio-economic interview survey, and by considering donor policies and national regulations. 

Participatory Rural Appraisals

PRA is an approach used by organizations and other agencies involved in international development. The approach aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of rural people in the planning and management of development projects and programs

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is a methodology used for interactive processes of social development: It is a way of learning from people, with the people and by the people. It is, therefore, a methodology for analyses, planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Community Development Planning

Community development planning consists of a public participatory and usually interactive form of town or neighborhood planning and design in which diverse community members contribute toward formulation of the goals, objectives, planning, fund/resource identification and direction, planned project implementations and reevaluation of documented local planning policy. It is a logical “bottom-up” evolution of (formerly “top-down”) regional, city and urban planning in an era of plateaued or diminishing public resources, increasing local burdens and responsibilities and public activism. It often promotes public/private partnership as a means to harness physical development activities in support of community-defined goals. At a minimum, it seeks community consensus for proposed allocations of scarce resources among competing demands. In more vigorous application, community members access a full gamut of planning tools, shaping and being shaped by shared understanding of a complex community information base, directly informing and guiding local plan content, influencing resulting development budgets, projects and thus future infrastructure and land uses, as well as helping coordinate the work of overlapping jurisdictions, levels of government, internal and adjacent communities and various providers, such as business associations, utilities and schools.