Infrastructure projects need to focus on the social much earlier
I2S research highlights the opportunities for improved social benefit creation and social impact mitigation through very early consideration of community needs and social benefit in infrastructure projects and revising auditing processes to include social considerations.
Based on the paper: Avoiding harm or creating benefit? How a risk focus sidelines social considerations in early decisions for Australian infrastructure projects by Ruth O’Connor and the I2S team
“Our work highlights a mismatch between the stated aims of major public infrastructure investment in Australia to deliver social benefit for community and business, and the processes that determine and audit infrastructure delivery. Infrastructure delivery is currently focussed on risk, which investors will always need to consider. At the same time, social risks – which can be precursors of project delay – are either ignored or downplayed due to entrenched evidence privileging.”
Read MoreConnecting clean energy for the region: Green hydrogen and offshore wind
ANU I2S recently chaired sessions and participated in panels at Japan Clean Energy Week, incorporating the Connecting Green Hydrogen and Offshore Wind conferences, involving over 3,000 participants from around the world. It was an exciting time in Tokyo. Here’s what you should know.
Read MoreWho needs circularity? Everybody!
Who needs circularity? Everybody!
I2S recently partnered with CircularEco to discuss the ways in which cicular economy can contribue to ‘connected infrastrcuture for people and planet’, this year’s ISC Connect Conference theme.
So, what were our key take-aways from our ISCConnect24 panel on the circular economy?
Read MorePrinciples for Social Inclusion for Impact Assessment (DRAFT)
Comment Period open now: DRAFT Principles for Social Inclusion for Impact Assessment.
The Principles were initiated during a special session of the International Association for Impact Assessment IAIA24 Conference in Dublin in May. The full draft is now open for comment until 30 August.
Social inclusion—ensuring that all groups and individuals in a society have equal opportunities for socio-economic participation and development—is a growing concern for contemporary project planning and delivery.
The concept of social inclusion can, however, be ambiguous. The pursuit of social inclusion is often implied. Explicit acknowledgement and integration of Principles for Social Inclusion in IA policy and practice is an important and direct means of supporting IA values and advancing best practice IA. The Principles for Social Inclusion offer …Read More
How presumed benevolence will short circuit the energy transition
In this short piece (relatively speaking, I am an academic!), I want to take a pause on SLO, to step back and to introduce a new, helpful and important concept: presumed benevolence.Read More
Local concerns shaping the renewables debate: Sun Cable
I2S Co-Founder and Director Professor Sara Bice spoke recently with ABC News about the case of Sun Cable and the importance of genuine community engagement to the renewables transition.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-26/suncable-proposal-bell-bay-community-concerns-tasmania/103841074
Read the ABC News Story here.
Social Risk Management for Major Projects: New training program
I2S is super excited to have launched our brand new Social Risk Management for Major Projects course with 33 participants from around the world at IAIA24 in Dublin last week.
It was an energising, thought-provoking, jet-lag-beating two days. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Here’s what some of our participants had to say:
Read MoreEight keys to a fair and just transformation
The I2S Team is just back from the 43rd Annual International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) conference in Dublin, Ireland. Four days, 1,200 delegates, nine thematic streams, 115 sessions, one traditional Irish band and just a few Guinesses later, and we’ve got the top eight take-aways. These cover the following topics:
1. Community participation and procedural fairness
2. Social inclusion
3. Social risk management
4.Indigenous and First Nations Peoples’ rights and participation
5. Getting contracting right
6. Getting comfortable with ‘decline’ scenarios
7. Critical minerals and responsible mining are critical
8. Land acquisition, displacement and resettlement.
Scorecard to assess and improve project engagement
Ever wondered how to benchmark your engagement practice? Or how we systematically assess “fluffy” or “fuzzy” concepts like relationship-building processes?
I2S Research Fellow Dr Ruth O’Connor shared her latest research findings on the challenges and opportunities of a Scorecard for assessing and improving infrastructure engagement at the IAIA24 session, ‘Ensuring just transformation of infrastructure projects’.
Read More6th Annual State of Infrastructure & Engagement: Results available now
The annual State of Infrastructure and Engagement Survey delivers insights about how stakeholder pressure, social licence, social risk and community engagement are influencing Australia’s infrastructure development. Each year the State of Infrastructure and Engagement Project tracks infrastructure sector professionals’ experiences of a range of issues, including project status and budgets and the factors they identify as most influential to project outcomes. The survey also takes a deep dive into unique, priority issues each year. This year’s deep dive focuses on:
Social inclusion social value community fatigue.
Experts agree: Infrastructure investment should deliver social value and support social inclusion but it’s not achieving its potential.
The 6th Annual State of Infrastructure and Engagement Report covers 2022-2023. It reveals an industry …Read More