The SIA training course is tailored for participants who seek to apply SIAs within a developing country context, and in such a way that its value and impact on decision-making and social performance is maximized, and challenges are better anticipated and addressed. It also includes a focus on understanding the ways in which the SIA process can inadvertently trigger conflict around proposed developments, and how this can be avoided and/or addressed through specifically designed approaches and associated tools.

The training will focus on the practical skills, critical thinking, and alternative approaches needed to deliver relevant and high quality SIAs. The training is targeted at individuals who have some experience in SIA and are wanting to improve the effectiveness of their current SIA practices.

Learning outcomes include:

• Deeper awareness of the opportunities and limitations of SIA
• Improved ability to build a fit for purpose SIA process that delivers the best outcomes especially in complex contexts
• Improved competency in a number of core skills that directly influence the value of SIA
• Understanding of the process, methodologies, and importance of stakeholder engagement during SIA

Understanding of how to design and implement an SIA process that is conflict-sensitive and improves development outcomes

Level:	Intermediate
Prerequisites:	This course will appeal to individuals who have some experience in SIA and are wanting to improve the effectiveness of their current SIA practice including: those that are from another impact assessment (IA) discipline and want to understand or be involved in an SIA; those that are currently carrying out SIAs, but are experiencing frustrations with their current assessment practice; those that commission and manage consultants undertaking an SIA; those that receive and assess SIAs within government or other organizations; and those that have to incorporate SIA within an integrated multi-disciplinary IA process. Importantly, this training is also relevant for those practitioners that carry out IA processes within developing country contexts with its associated complexities, and who have experienced or are aware of the potential of SIA’s (and IA’s in general) to both trigger conflict and be affected by conflict in a variety of ways. The key criteria is a desire to want to apply the SIA process in such a way that its value and impact on decision-making and long-term social performance is maximized and obstacles and challenges are better anticipated and addressed, and an interest in understanding and better managing those aspects of an SIA process that can trigger conflict and undermine company-community relations in the long term. The course will not be of sufficient value to individuals that have extensive or strong practical experience of SIA (i.e., advanced-level practitioners) and who have found ways of overcoming the obstacles related to the assessment process.
Language:	English
Duration:	2 days (14-15 May)
Price:	US$475
Min/Max:	10-30
Instructor(s):	Alison McCallum, Technical Director, Training, Synergy Global Consulting Ltd (South Africa) Katharine Gotto Walton, Director, Synergy Global Consulting Ltd (United Kingdom)
Special Note:	For the group case study exercise one laptop will be needed per working group.

 

Alison McCallum. As a social scientist, the focus of her work experience over the past 20 years has been in the general field of “social performance,” predominantly in the extractives industry, but also in forestry and infrastructure projects. During this time Alison has focused on working with corporate clients to improve their social performance at both the corporate and operational level. This has entailed a shift from legislative driven processes (such as social impact assessments), to work that is aimed at improving the ability and capacity of clients to deliver on their social performance mandates. Currently, a significant focus of this capacity building is as a key content developer and facilitator/trainer for the Certificate Programme in Community Relations Practice, a four-module course designed to build the capacity of community relations personnel in the extractive industry. This is done as part of a partnership with Synergy, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry. Alison also has extensive experience in the provision of in-house training programmes for community practitioners within South Africa’s mining operations. 

Other key work experience includes the development of guidelines and methodologies for improved social performance within the mining and forestry sectors, on-site work with community relations staff to ensure implementation of corporate policies, conflict mediation, development and assessment of corporate social investment strategies and programs, resettlement planning, social performance assurance at operations level, due diligence and IFC compliance assurance, social risk assessment processes, social impact assessments, development of stakeholder engagement strategies, and the design and facilitation of custom-made social performance training workshops. These areas of experience range from early in the project lifecycle (exploration phase in the context of mining), through to construction, operation, and moving toward closure.
The nature of this work has given Alison on-the-ground experience in understanding and transforming management objectives and company policies into workable solutions that address social performance challenges.
Alison is an accredited Time to Think facilitator, an accredited mediator with the African Centre for Dispute Settlement and CEDR, and has coaching accreditation with the Centre for Coaching at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business.

Katharine Gotto Walton has 20 years’ international experience focused on helping organizations understand and manage their interactions with society and the environment.  Her key competency is in managing the socio-economic impacts and issues surrounding large-scale development projects, in particular oil and gas joint venture projects working across corporate, government, non-government, and academic sectors. As a Director at Synergy for the past 14 years, Katharine has played a critical role in the success of numerous sensitive projects alongside building a global consulting company and team of expert social performance specialists.

Katharine is a strong project manager with extensive experience on the ground including work with Shell, BG Group, BP, Tullow Oil, Putu Iron Ore, and AGIP KCO and more than four years in Latin America for Shell. Her key skills include social audit, social, human rights and integrated impact assessments; project planning, implementation and assessment; stakeholder engagement and communication; social investment; wider social issue management; strategy and policy development; training; and team building and management. Katharine co-designed and is currently facilitating internal SIA training for a multinational oil and gas company. Katharine is an ISO14001 lead auditor and has led and participated in numerous external and internal audits including for the IFC Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman.

Katharine previously worked for an NGO-corporate partnership (BP, BirdLife International, Fauna and Flora International) leading a global grant and training biodiversity conservation program.