Psycho-Social Impact Assessment

Presenter: Sergio Moreira, Michael Edelstein, Helen Ross, Jeffrey Jacquet, Catherine Fairbairn, Ruari Carthew, Eden Klein

Facilitator: Will Rifkin

Recorded: 18 November 2024

Wondering how to report on the growing stress evident in a community near a proposed mine, roadway or redevelopment area? Or, are you aware of historical injustices that lead to distrust, concerns about fairness and powerlessness? Not sure on the most effective way to characterize and include these elements in an impact assessment?

These sorts of effects were captured by “psycho-social impact assessment” (PSIA). The field’s history dated back decades. Its approaches and findings had been receiving growing interest in the last decade in relation to the rights of First Nations peoples and heightened sensitivity to cumulative impacts and social license. There was also increasing acknowledgment of the importance of individual and community mental health.

This webinar covered:

  • Basics of the field
  • How PSIA strengthens social and health impact assessment
  • Historical examples
  • How PSIA identifies and characterizes cultural impacts
  • Complexity in causes and vicious cycles emerging in psycho-social impacts
  • Where the field is heading and its implications for “streamlining” impact assessment.

 

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