Social Assessment: Increasingly an aspect of project planning and EIAs, Social Assessment (SA) is a process which supports participation and makes explicit the social factors that affect development impacts and results. In many cases it can improve design and delivery and forestall unforeseen
consequences of project design that frequently occur without social science
input. SAs are carried out to:
(1) identify key stakeholders (those persons or organizations most affected by the project) and establish a framework for their participation in the project design and implementation;
(2) ensure that project objectives and incentives for change are acceptable to the range of people intended to benefit, especially women and the poor;
(3) assess the social impact of projects to determine how they can be overcome or at least substantially mitigated; and
(4) develop capacity at the appropriate level to enable participation, resolve conflict, permit social delivery, and carry out mitigation measures as required.
Return to the main MESAS resources page or to the social resources page.