Day 1 - Rāapa / Wednesday 21 April

9:30 am - 10:30 am   Opening plenary panel discussion
SIA for improved decision making, new directions
Nick Taylor

Nick Taylor

Nick Taylor has broad experience applying social research to projects, programmes, policy and plans in New Zealand and internationally.  He was a founding director of Taylor Baines & Associates and is now an independent researcher and consultant, working on strategic and project social impact assessments, recently including land and water plans, regional economic development strategies, irrigation development and aggregate mining.  He is a senior adjunct of Lincoln University and a Past President of the IAIA.
Hirini Matunga

Hirini Matunga

Hirini is Professor of Maori and Indigenous Planning at Lincoln University.  Prior to that he was Deputy Vice Chancellor Communities, Assistant Vice Chancellor - Maori, Director of the Centre for Maori and Indigenous Planning and Development at Lincoln University and Senior Lecturer in Planning at the University of Auckland.  He graduated in Town Planning in 1983 and practised as a planner – specialising in Maori issues with Napier City Council, Auckland Regional Council and the Ministry of Works and Development. He has been actively engaged in practice, then teaching and research in Maori planning, resource management, policy and design and indigenous heritage management with indigenous Maori and public sector institutions for over 30 years. 

In 2015, the Minister for Maori Development presented him with the New Zealand Planning Institutes - Papa Pounamu Award for Outstanding Service to Maori Environmental Planning and Resource Management. He is of Ngai Tahu (hapu Ngai Te Ruahikihiki, Ngai Tuahuriri, Ngati Huirapa), Ngati Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Paerangi (Atiu, Cook Islands) descent.               
Michaela Aspell

Michaela Aspell

Michaela is an Advisor at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and a part-time masters student studying Climate Change Science and Policy at Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University of Wellington. A Natural Resources Engineer by training, she previously worked at Tonkin + Taylor where she was seconded to Lyttelton Port Company as an Assistant Project Manager for large regulatory approvals under the RMA.  She is passionate about environmental sustainability and particularly interested in the interaction between mātauranga Māori and climate change adaptation and mitigation. 
Hamish Rennie

Hamish Rennie

Hamish Rennie is an Associate Professor in Planning and Environmental Management at Lincoln University, NZ.  A geographer initiated into social impact assessment as a graduate field worker for the Clutha HEP development he has maintained a keen interest in social impact assessment in developing countries and New Zealand in his subsequent 12 years as a public servant and since moving to academia in 1995 he has taught and supervised research in various aspects of SIA ever since. As an RMA Hearings Commissioner, submitter and expert planning witness he has seen its (non-)use in various planning settings and maintains a keen interest in its role in decision-making.
11:00 am - 12:30 pm    Informed decision making with SIA
KEYNOTE (Via Zoom from Australia):
Let's give SIA more clout: effective, accurate and enforceable assessments
Professor Sara Bice

Professor Sara Bice

Professor Sara Bice is Foundation Director, Institute for Infrastructure in Society at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University and a recent Past President of the IAIA. In 2020 Sara received the IAIA Outstanding Service Award.

She has wide experience in SIA and will discuss some of the challenges and solutions facing SIA, especially the opportunities found in placing more emphasis on cumulative impacts and community based assessments.

Lifting our game: impact assessment and the Treaty of Waitangi
Dy Jolly and Jade Wikaira

Dy Jolly and Jade Wikaira

Dyanna Jolly is from Whitebear First Nations in Saskatchewan, Canada. She has worked for iwi and hapū for the last 15 years preparing Iwi Management Plans and cultural impact assessments.  She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Otago and has a particular interest in what Treaty-based impact assessment might look like. 

Jade Wikaira (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Whānau ā Apanui, Ngāpuhi) is a planning practitioner with a passion for working with whānau and hapū to develop outcomes that reflect their aspirations, and for working towards more inclusive planning practice.  Jade is the current Chairperson of Papa Pounamu, the national network of Māori environmental planning and resource management practitioners. 

Lifting our game, exploring alternatives with affected communities
Carl Davidson

Carl Davidson

Carl Davidson is a Director and owner of Research First, one of New Zealand’s leading market and social research companies. With Research First Carl works as the Head of Insight, where he helps clients find evidence-based solutions to their pressing business problems.

Carl’s professional life has been spent at the interface of behavioural science and marketing. He has worked as a university lecturer (in sociology, then marketing), a social scientist in a Crown-funded research institute, a market researcher, and as a strategy consultant. In addition, Carl regularly presents and writes about research methods and about analytical thinking. He is the author of nine books about evidence-based learning, with a number of these now the standard textbooks used to teach research skills and critical thinking in New Zealand universities. He is also a regular contributor to The Press, where he writes about ‘the social science of everyday phenomena’, and he teaches in the University of Canterbury’s MBA programme. Reflecting his standing in the New Zealand research community, between 2010 and 2012 Carl was made the Chief Commissioner of the Families Commission and tasked with turning it into a world- class centre for research on families.

In 2013 he was also appointed to the Government’s Expert Advisory Group on Information Sharing for the Action Plan for Vulnerable Children, and in 2017 he was elected to the Board of the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce. He is also an Adjunct Fellow at the University of Canterbury’s Business School.
Poster Session
1:45 pm - 3:15 pm   Scale, context and synergies in SIA
(Via Zoom from Canada):
Experiences from Canada: assessing the social impacts of linear development projects
Michael Benson and Marcus Eyre

Michael Benson and Marcus Eyre

Michael Benson has been working in the field of social impact assessment for the past 20 years. He is currently working at the Canada Energy Regulator where he shapes the CER’s technical work and strategic direction on environmental and socio-economic assessments, and engagement with the public and Indigenous peoples. Michael's professional career concentrates on applying critical and system thinking approaches to solve sustainability challenges.

Marcus has worked in environmental and social impact assessment for over 25 years, on both project reviews and public hearings, as well as in the development of impact assessment methods and practices. Most recently he was a technical leader (environment) with the Canadian Energy Regulator where he worked for the past 20 years. Although initially trained as a biologist and having mostly worked on biophysical issues he has also worked on social impact assessments and is interested in the interactions, relationships and interdependence between the social and biophysical realms.
Recreation impacts and social impacts - can we integrate their assessment better?
Rob Greenaway

Rob Greenaway

Over the past 30 years Rob Greenaway has completed more than 500 consultancy projects in New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific, and has presented evidence at more than 100 hearings. Rob’s area of expertise is recreation and tourism planning, and includes management planning and resource assessments for local and regional authorities, and assessments of effect for consent applications, mostly in coastal, marine and freshwater settings, but including subdivisions and major industrial developments. He is a Fellow and an Accredited Recreation Professional of Recreation Aotearoa.

Assessing impacts on families - does SIA do the job?
Gerard Fitzgerald

Gerard Fitzgerald

I am a social scientist and social impact assessment practitioner of 40 years’ experience and a founder member of the NZAIA. My disciplinary origins are in social anthropology. My life’s work has broadly covered research and consulting in the field of society, environment, resources, and technology. In the past 10 years I have been mainly working on projects in developing countries, including in the Pacific, SE Asia, South and East Asia.

I am the third of 6 children from Timaru. My wife of 44 years works in teacher education at Canterbury University; my son in Perth is a former SIA practitioner and now a stakeholder engagement specialist; and my daughter in Brisbane is a primary school teacher. Both of my children have 2 children each.
3:45 pm - 5:15 pm   Social impacts of low-carbon futures
Social impacts of transport mode shifts
Angela Curl

Dr. Angela Curl

Angela is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Population Health, University of Otago Christchurch. She a social scientist interested in the relationships between urban environments, transport and health. She is particularly interested in how public policies, particularly in transport, urban planning and housing, can address health inequalities and transport disadvantage. Angela undertakes research exploring perceptions and experiences of accessibility and how these interact with the built environment to influence outcomes, such as travel behaviour, transport disadvantage, physical activity, health and wellbeing, for different population groups.

Evaluating policy experiments for inclusive low carbon innovation
Anna Berka and Janet Stephenson

Anna Berka

Anna Berka (PhD) is a Lecturer in climate change, sustainability and policy at Massey Business School. She holds degrees in environmental science, policy and economics and has a consulting background in social entrepreneurship and impact evaluation in the UK energy sector. She works on effective climate change governance in relation to risk, inclusivity (social justice) and innovation, using country comparative studies to draw best lessons for policy and practice. She has published on impact assessment, research methods, grassroots innovation, energy transitions, and low carbon innovation policy.  

Assessing the impacts of housing intensification
Sue Vallance

Suzanne Vallance

Suzanne Vallance’s research focuses on collaborative and transactive planning for sustainability and resilience. She seeks to understand governance strategies and planning approaches that may help resolve the tensions that populate the interface of strategic and tactical planning, and the interstices between the ‘public good’ on one hand, and ‘individual preference’ on the other. This underpins a diverse range of research interests (housing, public space, DIY urbanism, and disaster risk reduction) and methodologies (often action-research) and theoretical positions.

Schooled originally in human geography and political science, her research with community-based and non-governmental organisations has led to an appreciation for transdisciplinarity as well as indigenous ways of knowing and understanding the world. Systems thinking, Science and Technology Studies, and Social Practice Theory (SPT) provide useful theoretical impetus for applied planning research and practice. 

Day 2 - Rāpare / Thursday 22 April 

9:00 am - 10:30 am   Community and resilience
Operationalising He Rangitapu He Tohu Ora - Tairāwhiti's Wellbeing Framework
Erina Hurihanganui and Malcom Mersham

Erina Hurihanganui & Malcom Mersham

Erina Hurihanganui has led the development and design of He Rangitapu He Tohu Ora,  a Wellbeing Framework for Trust Tairāwhiti based in Gisborne. 
 
The Trust focusses on regional development and  is now in the phase of operationalising He Rangitapu He Tohu Ora.  They have used the framework to create their strategic plan and priorities to 2026. They are currently developing a set of impact indicators and measures based on the activities they do and intend to do  – to actually see if they are making a difference to the wellbeing of their communities. 
 
The evolution of He Rangitapu He Tohu Ora and its impact assessment design has been an iterative journey for the Trust.  Operationalising the framework which began late December last year
has unfolded the complexities involved in the creation of a wellbeing framework and then the actual assessment of wellbeing impact against it. 
 
Malcolm Mersham joined Erina and the He Rangitapu He Tohu Ora team to help operationalise the framework, by developing systems of knowledge & data capabilities to capture the measures, activities and outcomes of He Rangitapu He Tohu Ora. Prior to joining Malcolm was part of the economic development team at Trust Tairāwhiti.

The social impacts of climate-induced migration on receiving communities
Rajan Ghosh and Caroline Orchiston

Rajan Ghosh

Rajan Ghosh is a doctoral researcher at the Centre for Sustainability in the School of Geography, University of Otago, New Zealand. His PhD research focuses on climate-induced migration from the Pacific to New Zealand. He completed a Master’s of Science in Geography and Environment from Jagannath University, Bangladesh. His Master’s research focused on environmental migration in Bangladesh. Rajan is a core group member of the New Zealand Association for Impact Assessment, New Zealand.

A pandemic-responsive integrated planning tool
Chantal Lauzon

Chantal Lauzon

Chantal Lauzon is a policy advisor with Community & Public Health Te Mana Ora, a part of the Canterbury District Health Board.  Championing the Health in All Policies approach, she works across sectors to improve population health by ensuring wellbeing is a key focus for public policy and projects.  Originally from Canada, Chantal has a background in public health, communications and the NGO sector.  Current projects include supporting cross-sector work on reducing alcohol-related harm and joint work plans with local government.
11:00 am - 12:30 pm  
Inclusive approaches to social impact assessment
KEYNOTE (via Zoom from Australia):
Characteristics and conditions for rigorous, reflexive and inclusive SIA
Richard Parsons

Richard Parsons

Richard Parsons is with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and has led development and implementation of the SIA guidelines for major projects. He will outline the recent evolution of SIA in NSW, and identify some characteristics and conditions for rigorous, reflexive, and inclusive SIA, and some potential future trends.

Managing engagement for enhanced community input
Steph Brown and Wendy Turvey

Steph Brown and Wendy Turvey

Steph is a Technical Principal for WSP based in Christchurch and has had a diverse career in environmental management, initially in science and now as an environmental planner. She has over 20 years’ experience, predominately in delivering infrastructure projects for local communities. She is passionate about using collaborative approaches as a way of achieving improved environmental outcomes.
 
Wendy Turvey is the National Manager for WSP Research. She has been involved with numerous social impact assessments throughout Aotearoa over the last 15 years either as the assessor or in a peer review role.
(Note Wendy is a co-author on the presentation but will not be presenting at the conference)

Social Arts Practice for broadening Consultation and Community Engagement
Jenny Rock

Dr. Jenny Rock

Dr Jenny Rock has an interdisciplinary background in science and the arts/humanities, and is an applied and academic researcher in both spaces. She holds a BA in human ecology and a PhD in biological science, and is a practicing artist with formal coursework in visual arts, and has exhibited internationally. She was previously a Sr Lecturer in science communication at the University of Otago, focusing on aesthetics and philosophy of science, traditional ecological knowledge, participatory practice, sensory cognition and art-science interaction.

Currently she is an Associate Lecturer for the University of the Westfjords (Iceland), lecturing and supervising masters student research on coastal community development, and Adjunct Professor at College of the Atlantic (Maine, USA) lecturing undergraduates and supervising postgraduates in transdisciplinary approaches, where scientific and artistic practices meld. She lives in the Dunedin area and does freelance work with the city council, Otago Polytechnic, University of Otago and other institutions on creative community engagement.
Poster Session
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm   Professional Practice
Concurrent professional development workshops considering NZ case studies of SIA practice
i) Project applications, with Jo Healy and Amelia Linzey
Amelia and Jo undertake social impact assessments within the framework of the Resource Management Act (1991) for a wide range of projects. These projects include consents and designations for change of land use and major infrastructure projects. Each project has a unique social profile and challenges.

In this session they will use two practice examples as discussion points to work through the social impact specialist role within the phases of a project going through the consenting framework:  
i) The assessment and reporting phase: project briefs, existing environment, data collection (including integration with wider project consultation processes), and assessment of change  
ii) Mitigation and management phase: exploring how social impact assessments can inform project management, measures to avoid, remedy and mitigate effects and development of 'conditions' for project delivery
iii) Council assessment and processing phase: including peer review process, evidence and hearings.
ii) Strategic applications, with Nick Taylor and Mike Mackay
Nick Taylor and Mike Mackay undertake strategic social impact assessments within the auspices of the Resource Management Act (1991), council long-term planning, community strategies and programmes, and regulatory approvals in government agencies. These strategic applications see increasing demand for SIA from proponents and affected people.

In this session they will use two sets of practice examples involving economic regeneration initiatives, and land and water planning. Practice issues discussed will include
i) The SIA cycle and the phasing of assessments
ii) Scoping and focusing on key issues
iii) Issues for preparing a baseline and challenges recognising different sources of change
iv) Public involvement
v) Assessment, indicators of change, and the importance of change managing change for fair outcomes.
Indaba /  Open space discussion
topics identified by participants during the conference, focused on identifying strategies and actions around conference themes