Week 6 - People

Social Impact Assessment (SIA)

A Brief History of SIA

The legal basis of SIA (and increasing public awareness) first emerged in 1969/1970 when the US National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) introduced a requirement to ensure that major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment should be assessed for the likely impact of such actions (see Burdge and Vanclay, 1995).

The inquiry into the proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline from Yukon Territory to Alberta, Canada (1974-1978) was the first major Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) case that was overturned for social reasons. The proposed project was rejected due to a failure to consider the impacts on the local tribes.

Since then, SIA has been progressively introduced to many countries around the world.

What is SIA?

The International Principles for Social Impact Assessment defines SIA as “the processes of analysing, 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”.

Simply put, SIA is the process of identifying and managing the social issues of project development. This process includes the effective engagement of affected communities in participatory processes of identification, assessment and management of social impacts.