We deliver Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and Social Impact Management Plans (SIMPs) across Australia. We are known for our participatory SIA approach and believe that early and ongoing engagement informs SIA practice and enhances project planning and decision making. This enables issues/impacts to be proactively identified, addressed, managed and enhanced to deliver more acceptable project outcomes for all key stakeholders and local communities.

Social assessment processes and social impact management plans are developed for all project scales to deliver timely, effective, and creative strategies and solutions.

The proven expertise and experience of our Social Team ensures added value to industry, government, and community.

We utilise innovative and creative engagement techniques to engender meaningful stakeholder and community engagement through surveys, workshops, focus group and consultative and advisory committees. Relevant governance structures, programs, and projects are developed to address social issues and impacts. 

Members of our team are IAP2 certified and have a sound knowledge of relevant international engagement standards (AAA1000 SES).

Social baseline studies provide a foundation from which social impacts can be predicted. Our comprehensive community profiles provide an understanding of: 

• The characteristics of affected communities 
• Relevant social, cultural and demographic trends 
• Key stakeholders likely to be most affected by a project, including vulnerable or marginalised groups 

• Community values and built or natural features of importance 
• History of development and community response to change 
• Community needs and aspirations, to inform and plan for change

Our experience working in high profile and sensitive environments allows us to address social risks in a systematic and constructive manner. We work closely with clients to better understand the social risks associated with their respective projects and operational activities. Effective strategies are then developed to anticipate and manage risk and reduce social impact. 

Our SIA and engagement programs also recognise the importance of process components that may exacerbate community outrage, and we design and implement our programs with these factors firmly in mind.

Robust evaluation programs are undertaken for community investment and partnership programs, at any scale. Such evaluations ensure that programs are meeting their objectives and that investment is well targeted to address community issues and needs. 

The process facilitates value and benefit sharing for communities – and a solid social return on investment for our clients.

Our specialist social practitioners are proficient in the measurement of social concepts and the development of reliable social indicators to assess and measure social performance. Our insights enable clients to better understand the business case for good social practice. By effectively contributing to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the appropriate standards and policies to guide their social practice, Umwelt helps organisations develop a valuable social licence

We develop and implement social research, community perception and attitude surveys for government and industry clients. Given our social science qualifications, the team is highly proficient in the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and analytical techniques, including statistical analysis of social datasets. We are skilled in survey design, sampling, and stratification methods to ensure statistical reliability and validity of social data. High quality information graphics and spatial visualisations are produced to summarise results “at a glance” and clarify research outputs.

Our Principal Team is often asked to provide expert and peer review of social programs and processes. Our Social Practice Lead has published extensively within the social literature contributing to four international texts on social assessment, community resilience and engagement practice, with additional papers and articles published in relevant journals.