SIA usually deals with ‘single case,multi-stage studies’. The single case may
be an assessment of the future social consequences of an action like building
a new large dam or reservoir, introducing a new national pension
scheme or launching a new technology. In such single cases, a number of
phases can be identified. For instance, the construction of a large dam
entails a phase of political and technical preparation, a phase of construction
and a phase of maintenance. Each phase requires impact assessments,
including SIAs. Social impact assessors can use the first phase, inter alia,
for exploring social impacts in the second and the third phase. They can
also use the second phase to explore social impacts in the third phase.