Critical Review of Social Impact Projects

Critical Review of Social
Impact Projects

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Social impact of projects refers to the way actions of businesses, organisations and
individuals impact the surrounding community which can be an outcome of a policy, project,
plan, program or activity. Social impact Assessment is used to analyse, monitor and manage the
intended and unforeseen social consequences regarding planned arbitrations i.e. projects. The
two projects undertaken for critical assessment are Financial inclusion action plan (FIAP) in
Australia 2018-19 and Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2017. The aspects that will be
evaluated include determination of social needs of the projects, the segment affected by the
project, impact assessment on lack of policy vision in financial inclusion projects and less digital
inclusion of rural Australians and recommendations for further improvements.
MAIN BODY
Historically, movements and projects have aimed at bringing social changes, including
environmental movements, energy crisis, resource developments, increased importance of
individual well-being, decentralising economic functions, local political involvement etc. Social
scientists and administrators emphasize on the significance of community and rural changes. In
present times, consequence of movements and social impact projects have influenced decision-
making policies, formulation, management and evaluation of alternatives (Branch, 2019). Social
impacts of a policy are becoming more important apart from economic justifications. The social
impact helps in- prediction of a community’s ability to adapt to dynamic conditions,
determination of problems and issues in the proposed policy, assessment of the quality of life,
identification of mitigation opportunities, and compliance with regulations (Carley and Bustelo,
2019).
The financial inclusion action plan was launched by Australian government in partnership with
social and financial institutions like Good Shephard Microfinance and NGOs in the year 2018 for
the improvement of financial well-being of three million people going through financial
hardships. The program aims to address the areas of education, housing, gender pay gap,
unemployment, underemployment, debts through financial resilience for poor people and
indigenous population of the country (Muir and et.al., 2017).
The social impact created includes promotion of savings, collaborations, financial literacy and
skills, financial support to people and staff training, supporting customers, access to financial
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