[PDF] Community Development Toolkit - CommDev

Social Impact andOpportunities Assessment12 continuedASSESSMENT TOOLSIn the example in Table 15, the steps were:1. Description of the potential impactThe following matrices provide guidelines fordetermining the extent, magnitude andduration of a project impact. which, in turn,enables the calculation of the significance ofan impact. Each of these elements of theimpact assessment aids in determining thepriority of management actions that need tobe taken.The specific parameters for each projectneed to be determined by the assessmentteam, for example whether local impactsare to be described within a certain distanceof the project, or within a local governmentboundary, and whether national-levelimpacts should also be included for verylarge projects. The matrices provideexamples, rather than definitive parameters.Table 15: Example matrices for determining significance of identified impacts1. Impact assessment criteriaCriteriaExtent or spatialinfluence of impactMagnitude of impact(at the indicatedspatial scale)Duration of impactCategoryRegionalLocalSite specificHighMediumLowLong termMedium termShort termDescriptionBeyond 20km of the project sitesWithin 20km of the project sitesOn-site or within 100m of the site boundarySocial functions are severely altered – largenumber of directly impacted people/householdsSocial functions are notably altered – mediumnumber of directly impacted people/householdsSocial functions are slightly altered – small numberof directly impacted people/householdsLonger than the project life (more than six monthsafter operations cease)For the duration of the projectFor the duration of the construction (or less thansix months)(The distances and durations will vary depending on the context.)138 Community Development Toolkit