121-529 Social Impact Assessment and Evaluation

Formerly available as 121-004/421 Social Impact Assessment. Students who have completed 121-004/421 are not eligible to enrol in this subject.

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in environmental studies.

This subject develops the skills to understand and assess the social impacts of development. The different actors involved in shaping and implementing development projects and programmes (the state, international development agencies, non-government organisations and grass roots institutions) are appraised. Using practical examples from the non-Western and Western world, we develop techniques to monitor and evaluate impacts using interdisciplinary techniques drawn from anthropology, development studies, and the policy sciences that move beyond summative assessment and financial accounting. We consider and the social and environmental contexts in which development is embedded, and the capacities of different actors and organizations to avert or mitigate negative impacts through learning, negotiation, and citizen participation. At the completion of the subject students will have developed the conceptual skills to understand the relationship between society and development; be familiar with the range of methodologies and techniques used in impact assessment studies; and be able to critically evaluate the impacts of development projects and programmes.

• understanding international development aid and its role in social change; applying a set of techniques and concepts to new or unfamiliar contexts;

• understanding critical theories of social impact assessment;

• critiquing Social Impact Statements effectively;

• applying knowledge to new situations.

An essay of 3000 words due two weeks after end of semester (70%) and a project report of 2000 words due mid semester (30%) for fourth year students. An essay of 4000 words due two weeks after end of semester (70%) and a project report of 2000 words due mid semester (30%) for masters students.