Course info

Course Name:            Social Impact Assessment

Course Code:             HII 421

Credit Points:            20

Course Description

This course deals with one area of Applied Anthropology, which is the social impact of large-scale resource projects in Papua New Guinea today. Particular focus will be on the extractive industries (mining, oil and gas extraction). Most resource development projects are located in remote areas of PNG where they can have huge impacts, both positive and negative, on the lives of people in these remote communities.

This course will deal with social (including cultural, economic and political) impacts of mining, oil and gas projects in PNG. Students will learn the methods, approaches and processes of social impact assessment (SIA) and carry out a practical exercise in carrying out social impact assessment of a project in the vicinity of the university. They will also participate in discussions of broader social impact issues in the resources sector in PNG.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this semester, students will

·         Demonstrate understanding of the history, definition, principles, and approaches to SIA;

·         Describe the processes involved in carrying out SIA;

·         Critically evaluate/assess SIA studies done by other people;

·         Demonstrate ability to carry out SIA and write a SIA report

Course Content

Lectures will be organised around the following topics. About two weeks will be spent on each topic.

Week	Topics	Readings
2	Background to Social Impact Assessment -   History of Social Impact Assessment -   Definitions and Principles of SIA -   Processes of, and Approaches to, SIA -   Soft regulations and their influences in the extractives resources sector	Vanclay, F. International Principles for Social Impact Assessment Filer, C., (2004) Social Impact Assessment in Papua New Guinea Franks, D., (2012) Social Impact Assessment of Resource Projects IAIA (2015) Social Impact Assessment
3	Identification and Analysis of Stakeholders -   Stakeholder identification -   Stakeholder analysis -   Managing stakeholder expectations	Account Ability, 2005. Sections 1 & 2. ICMM, Community Development Toolkit #1, 2 & 5
4	Construction of a Socio-Economic Baseline -   Indicators for a socio-economic baseline -   Data collection methods	ICMM, Community Development Toolkit # 11 Owen, J., & Kemp, D., (2019) A framework for the collection of social baseline data in mining
5	Socio-Economic Impact Assessment -   Assessment of socio-economic opportunities -   Assessment of socio-economic risks -   Managing socio-economic risks	ICMM, Community Development Toolkit # 12
6	-   Social Impact Management Planning	Franks, D. M., & Vanclay, F., (2013) Social Impact Management Plans
7 – 12	-   SIA fieldwork/data collection -   Data analysis -   SIA Report Preparation and submission

 

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Teaching and learning strategies include a one-hour lecture and a two-hour tutorial per week for 13 weeks. The core content of the course will be communicated in lectures. The tutorials will be used for critical discussions of readings, presentations, group work and films.

 

Assessment Tasks

There are 4 assessment tasks such as the following totalling (100%). Attention is drawn to the Integrity Policy and the importance of honesty in acknowledging sources of information from other authors, using the APA referencing style.

 

 

Task 1:           Project Proposal

Description:     Students will be given Terms of Reference for conduct of SIA for a proposed or on-going project in the vicinity of UOG. They will prepare a project proposal in response to this TOR.

Criteria:           The proposal will be assessed on how well it addresses the requirements of the TOR and the methods to be used to gather data for the SIA.

Due Date:        End of Week 5

Length:            5+ pages

Weighting:      25%

Task 2:           Test

Description:     Students will do a test on topics covered in this course.

Criteria:           Test will comprise short answer questions only.

Due Date:        Week 7

Length:            N/A

Weighting:      25%

Task 3:           Group Work

Description:     Students are required to work in their groups in the fieldwork, data analysis, report writing and developing social impact management plans.

Criteria:           Group leaders will report on level of participation of each member of the group. This will form the basis of awarding marks for this assessment component.

Due Date:        NA

Length:            NA

Weighting:      10%

Task 4:           SEIA Report

Description:     After getting feedback from their class presentations, students in each group will prepare the final group SIA report.

Criteria:           Group SIA reports will be assessed on the quality of their socio-economic baseline, their use of the socio-economic baseline to forecast positive and negative impacts of the project and their overall understanding socio-economic impact assessment.

Due Date:        End of Week 12

Length:            15-20 pages

Weighting:      40%

Course Evaluation

Students and lecturers formally evaluate the unit at the end of the semester.

Selected References

Barrow, C. J., 2000. Social Impact Assessment: An Introduction. London: Arnold

Becker, H. & Vanclay, F., (eds.) 2003. The International Handbook of Social Impact Assessment. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar

Franks, D., et al., 2009. Leading Practice Strategies for Addressing the Social Impacts of Resource Developments. Brisbane: Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining.

Franks, D., 2012. Social Impact Assessment of Resource Projects. Perth: International Mining for Development Centre.

International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) 2015. Good Practice Guide – Indigenous Peoples and Mining (2^nd Edition). London: ICMM

Sustainable Development Policy - Green Paper(Department of Mining) 1 February, 2003, Sustainable Development Policy and Sustainability Planning Framework for the Mining Sector in Papua New Guinea.

Online Sources

Students can access additional information from the following internet resources:

1.       The first website is that of the International Association of Impact Assessors (IAIA) at www.iaia.org. Some good documents (in pdf files), including guidelines and principles of social impact assessment can be downloaded from this site.

2.       The other website is the SIA Hub website which has some publications that you might find useful. The website is www.socialimpactassessment.net. When you go to this website, click on the Resources tab and various publication lists will appear. 

3.       The Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the University of Queensland has good publications on some of the topics we will deal with in this course. You can visit the Centre’s website at www.csrm.uq.edu.au and search for their publications.