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Community-Centered Post-Impact Assessments: Measuring Social and Livelihood Outcomes of Large Infrastructure Projects in Nigeria

Oluchi Ulunma Nwosu

Abstract

Large infrastructure projects (roads, rail, dams, large water and energy works) reconfigure social and economic life in host communities. While environmental impact assessment (EIA) and ex-ante social impact assessment (SIA) have advanced, there is growing recognition of the need for rigorous, participatory post-impact (ex-post) evaluation that centers community experience and livelihood outcomes. This paper synthesizes the state-of-the-art in SIA and post-project monitoring, proposes a practical, community-centered ex-post assessment framework tailored for Nigerian contexts, and outlines methods to measure social and livelihood outcomes with credible attribution. The framework draws on sustainable livelihoods thinking (five capital assets), participatory methods, mixed-methods integration principles, and spatial econometric approaches for causal inference (including spatial DiD and models that allow spillovers). Practical measurement protocols are provided: stakeholder mapping, baseline reconstruction or synthetic controls, household surveys with livelihood indices, participatory wealth ranking, key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), grievance and complaint system analysis, and remote sensing/GIS to capture land-use change. Case illustrations from Nigeria (water/dam projects; transport resettlement) highlight common findings uneven benefits, livelihood disruption, and the centrality of compensation and local procurement to perceived project legitimacy. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations for regulators, donors, and project developers to embed community-centered ex-post SIA in project lifecycles to protect livelihoods and enhance social licence to operate.

Keywords

post-impact assessment social impact assessment livelihoods community

References

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