Social impact assessment and (realist) evaluation: meeting of the methods

Abstract

In this paper we reflect on the interlinkages between social impact assessment and evaluation and, in particular, realist evaluation. To examine the connections between these fields of practice we draw on recent research in the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, in which we linked social impact assessment and elements of realist evaluation in the study of rural and small-town regeneration. We use the research to identify a number of connections and to make suggestions regarding greater convergence of methods in social impact assessment and evaluation. We conclude by urging social impact assessment practitioners to use mixed methods, with a stronger emphasis on qualitative approaches, and especially to work with communities in an iterative way towards a conceptual basis for assessing and managing change and enhancing social wellbeing.