SIA ought to incorporate and respect human rights, and to be ethical in how SIAs are conducted
SIA should advocate that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) are observed by all project
proponents
It must be acknowledged that proponent-led SIA may not always have legitimacy in the eyes of the community,
and that community-led processes will often be desirable, especially in Indigenous communities
SIA should be more oriented towards how affected peoples can benefit from projects
SIA should take a holistic approach and be integrated with human health and wellbeing issues; and broader
social, economic and ecological sustainability
SIA must be anchored in ethically robust theoretical foundations related to social change. SIA requires a greater
understanding of foundational concepts such as scale, power, justice and sustainability, as well as the
theoretical frameworks around inclusive, pluralist and participatory approaches
SIA must include and facilitate meaningful public participation
SIA must be aware of the possibility of conflict and take a major role in reducing conflict
SIA should consider gender impacts and the differential distribution of impacts
SIA should consider and address cumulative impacts more seriously
SIA should consider project closure issues more, including at project planning
SIA can be applied in a much wider range of settings than traditional project-based ex-ante assessment
SIA should lead to the development of a social impact management plan (SIMP) (to be effective in terms of
being the process of managing the social issues of projects)
To be effective, SIA must be cognizant of organizational realities, and embedded in organizational processes
and culture and adapt to the realities of the different stakeholders