The National Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) policy, issued in 2007, recognizes the need to carry out Social Impact Assessment (SIA) as part of the resettlement planning and implementation processes. While an assessment of social impacts prior to the commencement of a new project or expansion of an existing is now obligatory under this new policy, the appropriate guidelines for the purpose do not yet exist. This handbook on conducting social impact assessments aims to fill this gap.
The main advantages of doing a systematic Social Impact Assessment (SIA) include the following -
The handbook explains the basic concept of social impact assessment, the step-by-step process of conducting SIA, and the SIA methodology. In short, it aims to provide practical guidance on carrying out social impact assessment, as envisaged in the national R&R policy, 2007. There is going to be an increase in demand for a set of how-to-do guidelines on conducting social impact assessments, especially from Government resettlement planning and implementation agencies. This handbook has been prepared to meet this demand for project personnel, both planners and practitioners, involved in conducting R&R operations.
This handbook is organized into six chapters –