ID: 2032
Presenting Author: Eddie Smyth
Session: 656 - Fair and equitable outcomes through deliberative wellbeing approaches?
Status: pending
This session proposes a new governance-justice approach to projects - a Fair and Equitable Project Approach (FEPA)
Building trust in project assessment requires more than technical rigour — it demands fair and accountable governance. This presentation introduces the Fair and Equitable Project Approach (FEPA), a new governance-justice framework designed to ensure that project assessment and implementation are grounded in fairness, transparency, and recognition of affected people’s rights. FEPA translates deliberative wellbeing into practice by embedding inclusive decision-making, fair distribution of impacts and benefits, and effective remedy mechanisms across all stages of project design. It provides a structured method to evaluate governance integrity and strengthen the legitimacy of project outcomes.
The presentation will also highlight the new ISEP Social Impact Assessment Guidance, which includes a new section proposing an alternative deliberative approach to SIA. This guidance integrates FEPA principles to help practitioners deliver assessments that are participatory, wellbeing-focused, and trusted by communities, developers, and governments alike. Together, FEPA and the new guidance outline a path toward genuinely fair and equitable project outcomes.
Eddie Smyth is an international expert in social and resettlement practice.