Modifying social impact assessment to enhance the effectiveness of company social investment strategies in contributing to local community development
Subject Areas :
Frank
Vanclay
1
(Faculty of Spatial Sciences)
Ilya
Gulakov
2
(Urban & Regional Studies Institute)
Jos
Arts
3
(University of Groningen, the Netherlands)
sh
n
4
(M.A. in cultural Management)
Keywords: Environmental impact assessment, community development agreement, strategic social investment, community engagement, extractive industries and society, International Finance Corporation Performance Standards. ,
Abstract :
Good practice social impact assessment (SIA) should lead to improved local community development outcomes. However, the social benefits alleged to flow from projects are often not as evident to affected communities as the project’s adverse impacts. Projects still give inadequate attention to social issues and fail to achieve social development outcomes. Using a prominent gas project in Russia, the Nord Stream 2 project, as an illustrative example, we explore the potential of environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) to enhance the effectiveness of project contributions to local community development. We analyse the main steps of the community development process for the Nord Stream 2 project, and consider how it benefitted from the SIA process. We also reflect on the potential further contribution of SIA to community development. Even though SIA and community development are interrelated, we conclude that SIA, as currently practiced, is constrained in its ability to contribute to community development outcomes. Adjustments to the SIA and corporate social investment frameworks are needed to make them more effective in achieving social development outcomes.
راهبردهاي سرمايه‌گذاري اجتماعي شرکتي در کمک به توسعة جامعة محلي
ايليا گولاکوف، فرانک ونکلي و جاس آرتس
هلند، دانشگاه گرونينگن، دانشکده علوم فضايي ـ مکاني، مؤسسه مطالعات شهري و منطقه‌اي
ترجمه
شهربانو ناصر
کارشناس ارشد امور فرهنگي؛ Homaa22@yahoo.com
چکيده
ارزيابي تأثيرات اجتماعي(1) به عنوان يکي از روش‌هاي خوب بايد منجر به بهبود نتايج توسعة جامعة محلي شود. با اين حال مزاياي اجتماعي‌اي که ادعا مي‌شود از پروژه‌ها نشأت مي‌گيرد، اغلب به اندازه اثرات نامطلوب پروژه براي جوامع تحت تأثير، مشهود نيست. توجه به موضوعات اجتماعي در پروژه‌ها هنوز ناکافي است. در نتيجه آنها اغلب در دستيابي به نتايج توسعة اجتماعي ناکام مي‌مانند. در اينجا با استفاده از يکي از پروژه‌هاي مهم گازي در روسيه، پروژه نورد استريم 2، پتانسيل ارزيابي تأثيرات محيط زيستي و اجتماعي (ESIA)(2) را براي افزايش اثربخشي سهم پروژه در توسعة جامعة محلي بررسي مي‌کنيم. همچنين مراحل اصلي فرآيند توسعه جامعه براي پروژة نورد استريم 2 را تجزيه و تحليل کرده، چگونگي بهره‌مندي آن از فرآيند ارزيابي تأثيرات اجتماعي را بررسي مي‌کنيم و تأملي بر سهم بالقوه بيشتر ارزيابي تأثيرات اجتماعي (اتا) در توسعة جامعة محلي خواهيم داشت. در پايان اينگونه نتيجه مي‌گيريم که: هرچند اتا و توسعه جامعه محلي داراي ارتباط متقابل هستند، آنگونه که در حال حاضر اتا اجرايي مي‌شود، توانايي محدودي در کمک به نتايج توسعه جامعه محلي دارد. بنابراين براي تأثيرگذاري بيشتر آنها در نتايج توسعة اجتماعي، اصلاح چارچوب‌هاي اتا و سرمايه‌گذاري اجتماعي شرکتي ضروري است.
واژه هاي کليدي: ارزيابي تأثيرات محيط زيستي، توافق توسعة جامعه، سرمايه‌گذاري اجتماعي راهبردي، مشارکت جوامع، صنايع استخراجي و جامعه و استانداردهاي عملکرد شرکت مالي بين‌المللي.
Modifying social impact assessment to enhance the effectiveness of company social investment strategies in contributing to local community development
Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 38(5), 382 – 396, 2020
Ilya Gulakov, Frank Vanclay & Jos Arts
Urban & Regional Studies Institute, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen,
the Netherlands
Persian translation by
Shahrbanou Nasser
M.A. in cultural Management; homaa22@yahoo.com
Abstract
Good practice social impact assessment (SIA) should lead to improved local community development outcomes. However, the social benefits alleged to flow from projects are often not as evident to affected communities as the project’s adverse impacts. Projects still give inadequate attention to social issues and fail to achieve social development outcomes. Using a prominent gas project in Russia, the Nord Stream 2 project, as an illustrative example, we explore the potential of environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) to enhance the effectiveness of project contributions to local community development. We analyse the main steps of the community development process for the Nord Stream 2 project, and consider how it benefitted from the SIA process. We also reflect on the potential further contribution of SIA to community development. Even though SIA and community development are interrelated, we conclude that SIA, as currently practiced, is constrained in its ability to contribute to community development outcomes. Adjustments to the SIA and corporate social investment frameworks are needed to make them more effective in achieving social development outcomes.
Key Words: Environmental impact assessment, community development agreement, strategic social investment, community engagement, extractive industries and society, International Finance Corporation Performance Standards.