[PDF] Community Development Toolkit - CommDev

Social Impact and12Opportunities AssessmentcontinuedExample impact assessment framework(for step 2)An example impact assessment frameworkis presented in Table 15 as a guide to theelements of a SIOA. The potential impactsidentified therein are both positive andnegative in nature. Positive potentialimpacts may result in positive social change(e.g. increased employment, economicgrowth), and the opportunity exists for yourproject to maximize these benefits througheffective management (i.e. identification andimplementation of benefits enhancementmeasures).In contrast, negative potential impacts mayresult in negative social change (e.g.displacement of settlements, pressure oninfrastructure), and the opportunity existsfor your project to minimize these negativeimpacts, and in some cases to transformthem into positive impacts, through effectivemanagement (i.e. identification andimplementation of mitigation measures).In addition, potential impacts can be bothdirect and indirect in nature. Direct impactsrefer to changes in baseline socialconditions that are caused by a specificproject-related activity (e.g. loss ofarchaeological sites). Indirect impacts referto changes in baseline social conditionsthat are indirectly caused by a specificproject-related activity (e.g. economicgrowth not directly associated with themine’s expenditures).Subsections of the assessment couldinclude:i. description of the potential impact,which discusses the following:a. cause – identifies the project activityresponsible for the impactb. nature – notes whether the impact ispositive or negative, as well as direct,indirect or cumulativec. geographic extent – describes thegeographic area impactedd. duration – notes whether the impactis related to a specific phase of projectactivity and how long the impact willpersiste. magnitude – notes the number ofpeople affectedf. significance – notes whether theimpact will have a major impact onthose affectedii. identification of management measuresto avoid or reduce to acceptable levelsany potentially unacceptable negativeimpacts and to maximize potentialbenefitsiii. assessment of residual impact(i.e. the impact that will remainfollowing consideration of the proposedmanagement measures) andcharacterization of overall significance.ASSESSMENT TOOLSImportantly, some direct and indirectimpacts have the potential to accumulatewith those impacts of other existing orproposed projects and activities in the areasof influence: these are called cumulativeimpacts.Community Development Toolkit137