Reframing the Conversation: Understanding Socio-Economic Impact Assessments within the Cycles of Boom and Bust

Abstract

IntroductionThere is increasing evidence that a socio-economic impact assessment (SEIA) is an essential step to identify and evaluate potential socio-economic impacts (SEI) of proposed economic developments, programs, and projects on the circumstances of how citizens, and or new migrant workers live, how it affects their health, and their community as a whole [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] SEIA can be defined as a `tool` that uses both quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate the potential impacts of proposed economic development on a community's social and economic well-being [8]. A comprehensive SEIA should consider an analysis of at least the following elements: local community demographics; cultural values; the way of living; current and future housing needs; preparation needed for municipalities and public services to accommodate future infrastructure changes; changes in employment rates and how these will affect the local economy and competition for skilled and unskilled workers; impact of a changing population on "old timers and new comers" as well as those who will be living in industrial camps close to local communities; an analysis of tax impacts and retail business; expected changes of quality of life and impact on citizen's short-and long-term health outcomes; effects on the local and broader environment with its local and migrant wild life and potential changes to a community's aesthetic values [9,10].Edwards (2000) proposed that citizen's early participation in the SEIA process, is imperative to assist and guide governments, project developers, and community leaders to identify potential social equity issues, evaluate the adequacy of social services, and determine whether the project may adversely affect overall social wellbeing [8]. Moreover, citizen participation plays an essential role in identifying common community priorities and avenues for mitigation of adverse socio-economic impacts. In this way, communities are engaged with how to heighten opportunities and benefits for the environment, community sustainability, and socio-economic wellbeing [9].Although there is overwhelming agreement of the importance of SEIAs to guide developers, governments, and community partners with proposed projects, there is no easy or standardized approach of how to perform a comprehensive and targeted SEIA. Focusing on both the positive and negative SEIs of any new economic development remains one of the best approaches to find "common ground" between key partners. Our experience showed AbstractSocio-economic impact assessments (SEIA) are an essential step in identifying and evaluating the potential direct or indirect impacts of proposed economic developments, programs, and projects on communities. A SEIA provides a framework to address the changing demographics and the impacts on services and infrastructure, economic structures including employment and business opportunities, quality of life, the overall health and well-being of the population, and the cultural values of the community. Communities that host rapid in...

Women's perceptions of health and well-being in a rural, remote, and resource-dependent community: Strengths and opportunities

“…As research participants in this project stated, providing equitable access to education and community development processes can also help to buffer the negative impacts of a "boom and bust" cycle. This helps to challenge the prevalent notion that such negative impacts are inevitable and unavoidable (Badenhorst et al, 2014).…”

The experiences of registered nurses caring for people with substance use disorders in emergency department settings

“…Additionally, there were 38 current or anticipated mines within the health authority region. Due to the rapid population increases that communities often experience with resource based economies, the infrastructure to support the increased population, including those allowing for access to health care services, is often not present (Badenhorst, Mulroy, Thibault, & Healy, 2014).…”

“…Depression, anxiety, and social isolation from both the worker's, worker's families, and the surrounding communities can be considered as an aggravating factor for substance use (Badenhorst et al, 2014;Northern Health, 2012). The prevalence of SUD within work camps can be attributed in part to the culture of the camps; substance use is considered a normative activity for recreational time (Northern Health, 2012).…”