Refining the attribution of significance in social impact assessment

Abstract

Clarifying and improving how significance is attributed to social impacts provides greater robustness and objectivity to the social impact assessment (SIA) process. This is beneficial for a discipline that still grapples with credibility issues compared to other disciplines that are also commonly presented as chapters in environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports. This paper provides a practitioner's perspective on refining how the significance of social impacts is attributed. The discussion emphasises the need to define social receptors and community resources. It highlights the human elements in the variables influencing significance, namely magnitude and sensitivity criteria. SIA practitioners with specialist skills in community development or sociology are best suited to using wellbeing and vulnerability as key magnitude and sensitivity criteria.

Keywords:

• social impact
• assessment
• magnitude criteria
• wellbeing
• sensitivity criteria
• vulnerability
• social receptors
• community resources
• impoverishment risks
• social exclusion