Social evaluation and sustainable development of project projects

Social Evaluation and Sustainable Development of Projects

Introduction: Sustainable development was first proposed in 1972, which refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. development is one of the basic requirements of the scientific outlook on development. In the early days, it was thought to be an economic growth model that focused on long-term development. As development issues were further exposed and understanding deepened, people’s understanding of sustainable development was no longer limited to economic development (let alone economic growth). It was proposed that sustainable development could The four pillars of sustainable development are economy, society, environment and culture. Only the coordinated development of these four aspects can sustainable development be achieved.

The World Bank (WB) first required in 1984 that "social assessment" should be part of the World Bank's project feasibility study work. During the project evaluation stage, it should be combined with economic, technical and institutional evaluation* **Same as [3]. "Putting People First" published in 1985 introduced the application of social analysis in the design of agricultural and rural development projects [4]. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), etc. established social development departments in their respective organizations. The World Bank established the Social Development Department in 1997 to strengthen the role of project social assessment (SA). [5] Project evaluation has developed from a single economic evaluation to an evaluation of economic, technical, environmental and social aspects, but it is still based on economic and technical evaluation. The order of consideration in project decision-making of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) is: social assessment, ecological environment assessment, economic and financial assessment, management assessment, and technical assessment [6]. This reflects a development trend in which social evaluation will play an increasingly important role in project evaluation systems and decision-making. Social evaluation has become an independent investment project evaluation method alongside financial evaluation, national economic evaluation, and environmental impact evaluation [7]. As the concept of social development changes from "economic growth-centered" to "people-centered" and then to "people-centered sustainable development" in the 1990s, project social assessment, like economic assessment and environmental assessment, is an important issue for the international community. More and more attention is paid to it and it is closely related to sustainable development. Social development is carried out by various development projects, and sustainable development is one of the goals of the project. Projects provide services for the sustainable survival and development of human society and are the way for human society to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, social evaluation is people-centered, studying the coordination relationship between the project and its stakeholders throughout its life cycle, thereby promoting the sustainability of the project and providing services for the coordinated and sustainable development of society and economy.

1. Definition of social assessment and the necessity of its implementation

1. Definition and connotation of social assessment

Social assessment of a project refers to the impact of project construction, Implementation and operation, analysis of social benefits and impacts on social economy, natural resource utilization, natural and ecological environment, social environment, etc.[8] Social evaluation mainly applies some theories and methods of sociology, anthropology, and project evaluation to systematically investigate and collect various social factors and social data related to the project to analyze various social problems that may arise during project implementation. Propose suggestions and measures to minimize or avoid the negative social impact of the project to ensure the smooth implementation of the project and the continued effect of the project [9]. Social evaluation is an evaluation method used in project design to analyze social issues and build a stakeholder participation framework. Social assessment as an analytical tool provides a research framework that integrates social issue analysis and stakeholder engagement into project design. Social evaluation, like economic evaluation and environmental evaluation, is also an important aspect of project evaluation. Project social evaluation focuses on studying the social sustainability of the project, that is, the problem of coordination between the project and society, the analysis of the mutual suitability of the project and the location; and the study of the relationship between the project and people. These problems cannot be solved by economic evaluation and environmental evaluation.

Social evaluation attempts to solve problems that cannot be "monetized" and embodies "people-centered sustainable development." Social evaluation is a project evaluation method that targets sustainable development. After review and approval by experts organized by the State Planning Commission, at the end of 2001 the State Planning Commission officially issued a document to the whole country recommending the use of the "Guidelines for Feasibility Study of Investment Projects", which for the first time included social assessment as an important part of the feasibility study of investment projects and recommended its use nationwide. . Social assessment has been used in domestic World Bank loan projects and Asian Development Bank loan projects. Social evaluation is quite different from economic evaluation and environmental evaluation. First, the diversity of goals. Economic evaluation has a single goal, mainly financial profits and economic growth, while social evaluation involves complex social and environmental factors, and there is no unified measurement standard; second, the cycle is long, and social evaluation must examine both the near and long term. The social development goals in the first period last for a long time; third, it is difficult to quantify, mainly qualitative, and it is difficult to quantitatively analyze; fourth, industry orientation, project orientation, industries and projects are very different, and there is no universal method; fifth, there are many indirect benefits and indirect impacts , social evaluation is more conducive to comprehensive evaluation of social welfare projects and basic projects that emphasize social development goals, and to analyze the feasibility of such projects. Social assessment is a useful supplement to economic assessment and environmental assessment.

2. The necessity of social assessment

Carrying out project social assessment is conducive to the implementation of sustainable development strategies; it is conducive to ensuring The project is coordinated with the social environment in which it is located to improve the economic benefits of investment; it is conducive to improving the project evaluation theory, comprehensively evaluating the project, promoting the smooth realization of national social development goals, and improving the scientific level of project decision-making; it is conducive to strengthening the macroeconomic perspective of investment Guidance and regulation; conducive to attracting foreign investment (international financial institutions such as the World Bank and ADB conduct social evaluations on loan project requirements); conducive to the rational use of natural resources and the protection of the ecological environment. According to the basic idea of ??sustainable development, it is necessary to expand the current project evaluation and decision-making principles (mainly economic evaluation) to establish the project evaluation principles of sustainable development, and social assessment (SA) is the basis for current project evaluation. Useful supplement.

3. Social evaluation index system

Social evaluation, like economic evaluation and environmental evaluation, can be measured by a series of indicators. It is difficult to focus on the indicators of social evaluation aiming at sustainable development. Quantitative non-material indicators, social evaluation indicators emphasize the sensitivity (disaggregated) of ethnicity, social gender, vulnerable groups (poverty, involuntary immigrants, the elderly, children, etc.). Its indicator system consists of the following parts:

(1) Social equity indicators: including the degree of income improvement and difference of stakeholders, Gini coefficient, Engel coefficient, public participation, employment rate (such as women’s employment rate), social security rate, ethnicity, gender equity, Number of poor people, etc.;

(2) Social justice indicators: including the degree of information disclosure (policy-disclosure), educational opportunities, access to resources, employment rights, gender justice, etc.;

( 3) Sustainability indicators: human resources construction, institutional capacity building, scientific and technological contribution rate, innovation capability index, informatization level index, social cost, etc.

Social evaluation is mainly project-oriented. Specific projects should identify the main social impacts, select relevant social factors, design industry indicators, and conduct social evaluation and social design based on the industry in which the project is located.

2. Social evaluation and sustainable development

1. Social evaluation: project evaluation method with sustainable development as the goal

Sustainable development is becoming more and more important It is regarded as a basic goal of public policy and decision-making in different economic types (developed, development, transformation) and different levels of intervention (comprehensive, sectoral, project). The United Nations' definition of sustainable development includes economic, environmental, and social sustainability in the development process. Development is a multi-faceted endeavor to achieve a higher quality of life for all mankind. Economic development, social development, and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing parts of sustainable development [10].

From the perspective of people-oriented sustainable development, social evaluation of projects should be vigorously promoted. Social assessment helps to develop development projects in a direction that meets local requirements under the guidance of national strategies, ensuring that social goals are well defined and that the methods to achieve them are appropriate [11].

The gradual recognition of sustainable development as a policy goal has promoted the evaluation of the impact of specific interventions on sustainability, leading to the emergence of integrated impact evaluation, that is, based on sustainable development principles and indicators. Based on this, the evaluation is carried out from three levels: economic, environmental and social [12]. Cost-benefit analysis (economic assessment), environmental assessment and social assessment have been practiced for many years, and at least the economic assessment and environmental assessment methodologies have been well developed at the project level. Economic evaluation has been greatly developed at the strategic level; environmental evaluation has been developed to a certain extent; and social evaluation has been the least developed among the three strategic evaluations [13]. Social development includes economic development, but is not limited to economic development. It emphasizes the comprehensive development of society. Development evaluation should be a multi-perspective evaluation, not limited to a single perspective. It should be a comprehensive evaluation from multiple perspectives, so that sustainable development can be achieved. Some of the impacts of development projects on stakeholders are often complex and unpredictable, and they are difficult to measure, predict, and value economically. Social evaluation is a form of feasibility study and is an important factor in economic, financial, technical, and environmental Supplementary analysis [14], therefore it is necessary to conduct social evaluation. Social evaluation helps to evaluate the social sustainability of development projects, just as economic evaluation and environmental evaluation evaluate the economic sustainability and environmental sustainability of development projects respectively. These three aspects of evaluation are also important supports for sustainable development. . Social evaluation constructs a stakeholder participation framework, which not only reflects the people-centered value orientation of development, but also facilitates the realization of a sustainable development strategy of public participation.

Social development goals change with the evolution of the social development concept. Today’s social development concept is “people-centered sustainable development”, and social evaluation examines the existence of projects from a macro perspective of the whole society. The contribution and impact it brings to society and the evolution of the World Bank's social evaluation also verify that social evaluation is oriented towards social development goals, so social evaluation is a project evaluation method that targets sustainable development.

2. Social evaluation: an effective tool to achieve sustainable development

“You can put the financial package together, but if you don’t consider the social impact, you won’t get Anything. And if we considered exactly every impact on people, we would be a more effective organization” [15]. It can be seen that the “social evaluation” of development is very important and is used and promoted as an effective tool by international financial institutions such as the World Bank [16].

Carrying out social evaluation is conducive to the rational utilization of natural resources and ecological environmental protection, and is an effective tool to achieve sustainable development. Natural resources such as land, water resources, and energy that humans rely on for survival are limited. Social evaluation has emerged in developed countries as problems such as the environment, population explosion, and energy crisis in post-industrial societies have become increasingly prominent. For our country, carrying out social evaluation is conducive to our country's economic construction, making rational use of limited natural resources, saving limited resources, protecting the natural and ecological environment, benefiting mankind, and achieving people-oriented and sustainable development. Social assessment evaluates from the perspective of social sustainability and is an effective tool to achieve sustainable development like environmental assessment.

Social assessment (SA) can achieve two levels of sustainable development. One is the sustainable development of the project itself. The feasibility demonstration of the project should be carried out from a strategic perspective, and the impact of the project should be fully taken into consideration. The direct and indirect, short-term and long-term, tangible and intangible, positive and negative impacts of stakeholders; the second is sustainable social development. The construction of projects will always occupy or consume social and natural resources. In order to reflect "intergenerational equity" and "intra-generational equity", to achieve sustainable development, we must strive to avoid the development concept of "pollution first and governance later".

A study of 57 projects funded by the World Bank showed that social evaluation is closely related to high returns on projects.

Research results show that enhancing social and cultural adaptability is indeed related to economic returns. The average rate of return of 30 projects that are coordinated with the local social economy is 18.3, which is more than twice the rate of 8.6 of 27 projects that are not considered to be socially coordinated [17]. Social evaluation of projects plays an important role in achieving development goals of development projects. Failure to conduct social evaluation of projects will have serious consequences. For example, the reservoir projects built in the 1980s in our country produced a large number of immigration legacy issues, resulting in secondary poverty. The legacy issues are still being dealt with today [18]. It can be seen that only doing economic evaluation without social evaluation does not meet the needs of sustainable development and is extremely detrimental to the realization of my country's social development goals. It can be seen that social evaluation, like economic evaluation and environmental evaluation, is not only useful, but can also improve the success rate and profitability of the project and maximize social welfare. Some large-scale projects in my country have conducted social evaluations, such as the social evaluation study of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which includes analysis of the benefits and social impacts of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, analysis of project stakeholder groups and their interests, project and social adaptability, public participation, and project risk analysis and identification, etc. Social analysis was carried out from five aspects [19], and the analysis demonstrated the importance, necessity and urgency of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, thus providing a basis for scientific decision-making of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

Social evaluation emphasizes institutional analysis (Institution), capacity building (Capacity building), stakeholder consultation (Consultation), and participation (Participation) to achieve sustainable development of the project. Sustainable development includes the sustainability of four capitals, namely economic capital, natural capital, human capital, and social capital [20]. Project social assessment helps achieve the sustainable development of these four capitals. Practice has proved that the project social assessment implemented by the World Bank has enhanced the social assessment capacity building and public participation capacity of the lending countries, and is conducive to the development of the lender's human resources, thus promoting sustainable development.

The project is in a specific social environment and background. Therefore, the social evaluation of the project requires an analysis of the impact and interoperability between the project and the location (community). The project and the community are closely connected, and the community also constitutes society. unit, so considering social evaluation indicators must be consistent with the sustainable development of the community. The indicators of social evaluation belong to social welfare indicators and are interconnected among the community sustainable development evaluation indicator systems. Community well-being indicators can be a valuable tool in addressing important issues and issues in a city or borough, helping to raise public awareness, encourage personal participation, and bring about change [21]. The goals of community well-being indicators and social evaluation indicators are consistent. Therefore, social evaluation can also be included in the evaluation of community sustainable development, such as using social evaluation methods to evaluate my country's sustainable development experimental zones.

3. Conclusions and Suggestions

The adoption of social evaluation results is an integral part of the evaluation process. Social evaluation is mainly to improve projects and allocate limited resources to better projects. , to achieve “people-centered sustainable development”. Social evaluation makes project decision-making, resource utilization, project design, project implementation and continuation more conducive to human development. Social evaluation is a project evaluation method with sustainable development as the goal, and it is also an effective tool to achieve sustainable development. Our country has already carried out social evaluation in some large-scale projects, such as the Three Gorges Project and the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which makes project evaluation more systematic and comprehensive. However, social evaluation needs to be further systematized and institutionalized to achieve people-oriented sustainable development. ;