Our customers’ needs vary with their business and projects, but the factors driving demand are common to all – increased social safeguard regulation, rise of corporate social responsibility, and promotion of international rights-based conventions.
Our trained and highly experienced social scientists help governments, private developers, investors and lenders conduct social impact assessment, social research, management planning, market research, public consultation and stakeholder engagement. We consider vulnerability, gender, induced development, cumulative effects, climate change adaptation and grievance redress in our analysis of how people, neighbourhoods, communities and workers are affected by proposed interventions.
We reduce reputational risk in pursuit of sustainable development outcomes by:
- Good community relations via stakeholder engagement planning
- Benefit enhancement and sharing with host populations
- Safeguarding human, worker and indigenous people’s rights
- Secure tenure and livelihood restoration for resettled peoples
- Management systems based on good governance and natural resource retention
Social due diligence and impact assessment
Health impact assessment
We undertook a health (including equality, transport and carbon) impact assessment for Healthcare for London which proposed changes to stroke and major trauma services. The study helped the National Health Service understand the potential effects of changes on traditionally under-represented groups and communities.
Compliance assessments
We carry out quarterly construction labour monitoring visits to work sites, subcontractor human resource departments, and labour accommodation for New York University Abu Dhabi Campus Construction. We review compliance with UAE laws and international labour standards to help the university meet its labour rights commitments. We reviewed the engineering, procurement and construction contract for Astraeus Wind Farm, UK, to ensure it met our financers’ Equator Principle commitments.
Stakeholder engagement and public consultation
In Indonesia we conducted social impact assessments, including consultation and resettlement planning, for two geothermal power projects. The World Bank included our work as an example in their best practice guidelines.
Services
- Capacity building, training and institutional assessment
- Community livelihoods and ecosystem services analysis
- Corporate social policy and procedure development
- Equality impact assessments
- Health impact assessments
- Human rights impact assessments and gender analysis
- Indigenous peoples’ and ethnic minorities development planning
- Labour monitoring, labour accommodation planning, and local content strategies
- Public consultation, information disclosure, grievance management and stakeholder engagement planning
- Resettlement and livelihood restoration planning
- Social due diligence and Equator Principles compliance reviews
- Social impact assessment, management and monitoring