ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some ways to forecast and evaluate the probable social effects of proposed actions. Forecasting and evaluating social effects is a difficult part of social assessment because it requires the assessor to make judgments for which there are no hard and fast guidelines. The chapter describes forecasting and evaluation. Forecasting social conditions is especially difficult for several additional reasons. First, it deals with the consequences of the collective behavior of actors who can alter their behaviors based on both real and perceived changes in the environment. Forecasting and evaluating the social effects that result from a proposed action is the goal of the social assessment. Once the existing, baseline, and with-action conditions have been estimated and the portion attributable to the proposed action has been identified, social meaning of the impacts can be addressed. The social assessment is usually only one of many components that constitute the final technical report and environmental assessment.
