ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the consciousness-raising potential of social impact assessment, and argues that most uses of social assessment are more likely to serve decision makers and formally organized interest groups than to provide potentially impacted populations with a clear vision of how the proposed project is likely to change their lives. It outlines social assessment from the perspectives of decision makers, assessment specialists, and impacted populations, and describes the concept of consciousness raising, suggesting possible applications to the social assessment process. The chapter provides some characteristics of social assessment as presently practiced are reviewed, and the potentially negative consequences of viewing impact assessment as "objective" or "value free" are explored. It examines several possible justifications for increasing the consciousness-raising potential of social assessment, and present several suggestions for doing this. A social assessment that raises the consciousness of impacted populations is one which addresses key elements or features of the consciousness or "social selves" of impacted populations.
