Project scoping and Interviews

Stage 1: Scoping

The first stage focuses on understanding the local context and laying the groundwork for a successful social impact assessment. This begins by identifying and mapping key community groups such as farmers, fishers, tourism operators, local businesses, and cultural or recreational users. Mapping these stakeholders helps reveal the area’s social capital- its networks, levels of trust, and social structures- which is essential for deciding on the most appropriate sampling methods later on. Site visits can be a valuable part of this stage, allowing you to build trust with local stakeholders and gather contextual information that may not be captured in reports or databases. It’s also helpful to develop an initial stakeholder list to guide who you plan to speak with during interviews or surveys. Throughout this process, you should begin collecting secondary data (e.g., demographic statistics, past studies, policy documents), which will support your understanding of the area and complement the primary data gathered in later stages.

This stage sets the foundation for all that follows, ensuring your assessment is grounded in the local realities and engages the right people from the outset.

Stage 2:

Engaging Stakeholders- personal interviews

During this stage, it is important to choose interviewees based on how closely their experience aligns with the project’s goals. Clear selection criteria, such as demographics, local knowledge, or role, ensure relevance and diversity. Both purposive and snowball sampling methods can be used to reach a broad and representative group. Engaging the right mix of stakeholders helps capture varied perspectives on social impacts.

Designing and Conducting Interviews
A good interview starts with a clear objective and well-structured questions. Interviews should begin with open, general questions and gradually become more specific, avoiding any leading language. Ethics, accessibility, and cultural sensitivity are essential in shaping the tone and content of the discussion. The goal is to gather meaningful insights into community experiences and perceived changes.

Analysing and Using the Data
Interview data is typically analysed using qualitative methods such as thematic analysis. This involves coding responses, identifying patterns, and grouping insights into themes. The results can help refine survey design and support the interpretation of future quantitative data. Ultimately, these findings feed into a broader understanding of social impacts and help shape project planning and evaluation.

Presentation slides

Example interview guide