The Actual Knowledge Stage in the Area of Social Impact Assessment on International Level and in Romania, Related to the Most Recently References from Specialized Literature

Abstract

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is a specific type of evaluation extremely useful in project planning and management, a research technique and a public policy instrument successfully used all over the world by those responsible with institutional and organizational management, with the coordination of projects and programs financed from public or private founds. High public officers, politicians, managers, institutions' or organizations' leaders, program directors and project coordinators etc. use the SIA in order to notice in time the effects of the interventions they implement or they intend to implement. The aim is to see in time and mitigate the unwanted effects on the groups of people, on communities and on society, as well as to encourage the positive elements of the impact. In short, SIA is used in order to minimize losses and maximize the benefits of the interventions upon small or large social groups. This article intends to visualise the starting point for building a methodological tool­kit for assessing the social impact of programs and projects in the Romanian institutional framework.