PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES AS INSTRUMENTS OF DEVELOPMENT
DVA 2601
SEMESTER 2
Q4.Debate whether the South African approach to social impact assessment
(SIA) practices promotes SIA objectives.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 2
2. SIGNIFICANCE OF SIA 3
3. DESCRIPTION OF HOW SIA IS USED IN SOUTH AFRICA. 4
4 DISCUSSION OF THE CHALLENGES IN THE PRACTICE OF SIA IN SOUTH
AFRICA 5
5 A BRIEF DISCUSSION ABOUT WHETHER SOUTH AFRICAN APPROACH TO
SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SIA) PRACTICES PROMOTES SIA
OBJECTIVES. 5
6. SUGGESTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW SIA SHOULD BE
PRACTICED TO PROMOTE ITS OBJECTIVES. 6
7 CONCLUSION 7
REFERENCES 8
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, 1 INTRODUCTION
Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is an approach to exploring the social effects of
infrastructure developments and other development interventions. Although SIA is
commonly used as an intervention tool, the same methods should be used to assess
the social impact of unknown events, such as disasters, demographic changes, and
epidemics. Social impact assessments are used to identify and manage the social
effects of industrial projects. These EISs can also be combined with environmental
impact assessments where plans, deadlines and strategies are required. Examples
include social assessments, observing how people live in culture, society, medical
science, and political systems. These examples demonstrate the importance of the
environment and its effect on social performance. Anthropologists are generally
employed in SIA to identify and detect: who are the ranks, community, home, worker,
health and content of the sector.
Social impact assessment is a technical method of analyzing and evaluating the
effect and outcome of policies, initiatives, events, activities, etc. in a social context.
Social impact assessment is a specific social science research technique applied to
policies or a project that seeks to understand the circumstances, motivations and
outcomes of social life (Becker, 2014). Scientific knowledge and approaches will be
used to analyze social changes, effects and outcomes through plans or initiatives
and useful knowledge or plans will be provided to reduce negative aspects and
achieve effective management.
There is no agreed definition of social impact assessment. A number of academic
institutions have defined it in various ways over the years, but the principle remains
constant. It is a system that seeks to measure the social effect that could result from
projects undertaken to encourage development, such as roads, mills, industries,
mines, ports and airports. It is a vital tool that can help policy makers predict the
likely adverse outcomes of their actions so that essential deterrent measures can be
taken. Social Impact Assessment focuses on decision makers understanding the
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