A warm welcome to the SOCIAT training program

Welcome to the SOCIAT training program! We are excited to have you on board. This program is designed to equip you with the knowledge, tools, and hands-on experience needed to capture the social impacts of nature protection and restoration projects.

Get ready to learn, grow, and connect with others on this journey. Let’s make it a great experience together!

Structure

The SOCIAT online training is structured as a four-session series. It begins with an introduction to conservation social science and social impact assessments, followed by a session on using the SOCIAT survey tool for conservation projects. Midway through, participants will learn how to conduct personal interviews, and then explore participatory mapping methodologies for social impact assessment. The program concludes by giving participants the opportunity to develop and present a social impact assessment for their own projects.

Session 1: Introduction to conservation social science and the SOCIAT framework

In this session, you will explore key theories and contributions from environmental sociology, environmental psychology, and behavioural science—foundational elements in the development of tools within conservation social science. We will also introduce the SOCIAT framework and the key concepts on which it is based (facilitator Prof. Nikoleta Jones)

Session 2: Using SOCIAT

During this session, we will walk through a step-by-step approach to using the SOCIAT survey tool, including selecting social impact indicators, planning your sampling methodology and techniques for questionnaire distribution. We will also cover basic statistical techniques for data analysis and take a deeper look at how to interpret the results (facilitators Prof. Nikoleta Jones, Dr Chrisovaladis Malesios)

Session 3: Conducting personal interviews

In this session, we will guide you through the process of conducting personal interviews, from designing interview questions to selecting participants and conducting the interviews. We will also discuss techniques for active listening, recording responses, and analysing qualitative data to draw meaningful insights (facilitator Prof. Nikoleta Jones)

Session 4: SOCIATmap-A participatory mapping methodology for social impact assessments.

During this session, you will be introduced to a tool that combines social impact assessment with participatory mapping. This innovative methodology enables you to capture social impacts through a mapping exercise, transforming how we interpret traditional maps. It also provides invaluable insights that can be integrated with ecological mapping assessments.

Final Activity

During the training you will be working towards developing your own social impact assessment for a project you have been currently working on or are planning to work in the future.

Contact

fidelio@warwick.ac.uk

SOCIAT program

Ramphal Building

University of Warwick

Coventry

CV4 7AL

UK

Funding

The training program and associate guidelines have been developed thanks to funding from the University of Warwick's Policy Support Fund, the internal ESRC IAA program and the Arts and Humanities Impact Fund.

The SOCIAT tool was the result of the FIDELIO project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme.