SIA HUB

Welcome

Welcome 4000 new members as of March 2021!

Welcome

SIAhub is an internet portal where the global SIA community of practice can network, access resources, share ideas and promote good practice.

‘Social Impact Assessment (SIA) includes 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. Its primary purpose is to bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical and human environment.’ International Principles for Social Impact Assessment

News

What did NAM do to get a social licence to operate? The social impact history of the Schoonebeek oilfield in the Netherlands

02 March 2021

Online, Europe

Interesting read about a positive case on achieving a social licence to operate:

"From 1943 to 1996, the small rural community of Schoonebeek in the eastern Netherlands hosted the largest onshore oilfield in western Europe. Some 250 million barrels of oil were produced, bringing prosperity to the municipality and local community. With generous compensation paid by NAM (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij, a partnership between Shell and ExxonMobil), local people greatly benefited from oil extraction. However, there were also negative social impacts, including: an influx of outsiders; changes to social structure, social fabric, social cohesion, and community identity; disruption to the peaceful rural setting; and industrialisation of the landscape. Nevertheless, the oil pumping installations (‘jaknikkers’ or nodding donkeys) ultimately became positive symbols of local place identity. Despite the negative social impacts, oil production came to be viewed positively by most local people, and a high level of trust developed between the host community and NAM because of the social performance strategies that were implemented."

More information and the full publication available with open access in https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214790X21000332?via%3Dihub

Update of the IAIA Key Citations Series about SIA

03 February 2021

Online, Other Countries

The IAIA Key Citations Series about Social Impact Assessment has been recently updated!

It provides a starting point for persons new to the various fields of impact assessment and includes a selection of currently available textbooks, journal articles, key official documents and guidelines for SIA.

The document is freely available in https://www.iaia.org/uploads/pdf/key-citations/Key-Citations_SIA.pdf?_zs=7GD3b&_zl=OXUR2v,

Launch of Community Guide to Social Impact Assessment

04 January 2021

Australia, Oceania

The document draws on Jane Munday's PhD research and practice of a "model for social and cultural impact assessment that will deliver socially, culturally, ecologically and economically sustainable development of Northern Australia."

"This is not intended as a definitive guide. Other companies will have their own methodologies. But this document reflects our approach to social impact assessment. It draws on the standards set by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) and International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), in particular work by Professor Frank Vanclay."

The full community guide to SIA is available in http://www.truenorthcomm.com.au/news/community-guide-to-sia/

Jobs

SIA Expert - Strategy Advice and Review for USAID

28 September 2020

Remote, North America

Consulting assignment to work on team that is providing advice to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as they work to better integrate SIA into their EIA process. Includes writing and review of various USAID-specific knowledge products.