Infrastructure projects need to focus on the social much earlier
I2S research highlights the opportunities for improved social benefit creation and social impact mitigation through very early consideration of community needs and social benefit in infrastructure projects and revising auditing processes to include social considerations.
Based on the paper: Avoiding harm or creating benefit? How a risk focus sidelines social considerations in early decisions for Australian infrastructure projects by Ruth O’Connor and the I2S team
“Our work highlights a mismatch between the stated aims of major public infrastructure investment in Australia to deliver social benefit for community and business, and the processes that determine and audit infrastructure delivery. Infrastructure delivery is currently focussed on risk, which investors will always need to consider. At the same time, social risks – which can be precursors of project delay – are either ignored or downplayed due to entrenched evidence privileging.”
Read MoreConnecting clean energy for the region: Green hydrogen and offshore wind
ANU I2S recently chaired sessions and participated in panels at Japan Clean Energy Week, incorporating the Connecting Green Hydrogen and Offshore Wind conferences, involving over 3,000 participants from around the world. It was an exciting time in Tokyo. Here’s what you should know.
Read MoreWho needs circularity? Everybody!
Who needs circularity? Everybody!
I2S recently partnered with CircularEco to discuss the ways in which cicular economy can contribue to ‘connected infrastrcuture for people and planet’, this year’s ISC Connect Conference theme.
So, what were our key take-aways from our ISCConnect24 panel on the circular economy?
Read MoreSuperdiversity and engagement: New policy brief
ANU I2S is a co-founding member of Superdiversity Research Australia (SRA), established in May 2024. SRA brings together distinct and complementary efforts that study and visualise superdiversity. This ANU I2S. This Briefing outlines three initiatives that can help community engagement and infrastructure sector professionals innovate and elevate their work, today:
- Urban Superdiversity Maps
- Superdiversity Stability
- Climate Vulnerability Maps.
Introducing Superdiversity Research Australia
I2S is excited to introduce Superdiversity Research Australia, a new national initiative to deliver evidence and insights to support contemporary Australian communities’ development, liveability and prosperity.
Superdiversity “describes places characterised by communities that are diverse in multiple ways, including religious, cultural, economic, age or gender diversity, among others”.* And it’s the new normal in Australia.
Read MorePrinciples for Social Inclusion for Impact Assessment (DRAFT)
Comment Period open now: DRAFT Principles for Social Inclusion for Impact Assessment.
The Principles were initiated during a special session of the International Association for Impact Assessment IAIA24 Conference in Dublin in May. The full draft is now open for comment until 30 August.
Social inclusion—ensuring that all groups and individuals in a society have equal opportunities for socio-economic participation and development—is a growing concern for contemporary project planning and delivery.
The concept of social inclusion can, however, be ambiguous. The pursuit of social inclusion is often implied. Explicit acknowledgement and integration of Principles for Social Inclusion in IA policy and practice is an important and direct means of supporting IA values and advancing best practice IA. The Principles for Social Inclusion offer …Read More
How presumed benevolence will short circuit the energy transition
In this short piece (relatively speaking, I am an academic!), I want to take a pause on SLO, to step back and to introduce a new, helpful and important concept: presumed benevolence.Read More
Creating social value through infrastructure
In the second of a three-part series, I2S Co-Founder and Director Professor Sara Bice explores the importance of social value creation through infrastructure and how it can be achieved.
Read More