Boffa Miskell led the planning and delivery of a Social Impact Assessment and developed an associated StoryMap to effectively communicate the study findings. A Social Impact Assessment is the process of identifying the social impacts of a particular issue or project on peoples' individual and collective way of life.
This particular study focused on the likely social impacts that need to be considered during planning for climate change and natural hazards within the Hauraki Plains. The insights delivered will inform the development of the Hauraki Plains Adaptation Plans. In particular, it has been presented to the governance group and is a key document for the community panel who are guiding the development of the Hauraki Plains Adaptation Plan.
The Boffa Miskell team worked collaboratively adopting ‘one team’ approach aiming to get all parties, including community and technical consultants, working towards shared strategic goals.
Our role included:
• Gathering existing data for the Hauraki Plains area through stakeholder interviews; reviewing census information, including demographics and local economy; and identifying sites of cultural and social significance;
• Analysing social data and identifying how best to gather additional necessary information through further community engagement; and
• Presenting the Social Impact Assessment and describing the social baseline of the area by using interactive ArcGIS online StoryMaps.
Data for this social impact assessment was collected though desk research and qualitative research, and community surveying. The diversity of interviewees gave a broad range of perspectives, from across the Hauraki Plains community and study area, providing an understanding of what the community values, and what might be at risk if hazards are not proactively addressed.
Insights from the social impact assessment found people in the Hauraki Plains have a strong ‘sense of place’, with community members generally sharing similar views on why they like the Hauraki Plains as a place to live. The study also found that many people in Hauraki Plains, especially members of farming communities, make primary sense of the world and climate through their direct lived experience of weather and the land.
The social impact assessment contains recommendations to support community engagement process during adaptation planning. These recommendations are targeted to ensure the community is effectively engaged and allow people to input confidentially into the adaptation planning process.
To support the communication of the Hauraki Plains Adaptation Planning project and the social impact assessment, a project StoryMap was developed on ArcGIS. This is publicly available and will remain updated during the course of the project.
