Theory of Change and Behavioral Indicators in Social Impact Assessment
Keywords:
theory of change, social impact assessment, social cognitive theory, indicatorAbstract
This paper aims to present the concept of the theory of change and social indicators in the social impact assessment which employed behavioral science approaches. From the study of theories and related research, it was found that the theory of change was a process concept, methodology, and problem-solving tool used to describe the outcomes of a project. The theory of change consists of social impact pathway (which comprising inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and social impacts), stakeholders and outcome (or impact) indicators. 2) It showed that the social indicators in the theory of change could be developed from behavioral science concepts in social cognitive theory from 3 components: B-Behavior, P-Cognitive and person factors and E-Environment influences as determinant of each other. This paper presents an analysis of social outcome indicators from 11 social impact assessment studies. It showed that the integration of behavioral science concepts with social outcome indicators covered all three aspects of social cognitive theory concept. The development of social indicators integrated with behavioral sciences had made the assessment of changes in social impact had been clearer and concrete. This concept can be applied in social projects and other context social impact assessment work.
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