Check out the latest enews, sent 14 July 2017
Table of Contents:
1. Free webinar on psycho-social impact assessment offered 19 July
IAIA is offering a free webinar on 19 July. "Understanding Impacts on Vulnerable Populations through Psycho-Social Impact Assessment" will be presented by IAIA member Michael Edelstein. For more information and to register, visit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/996963860237359617?source=E-news. This is a 90-minute webinar with a few Q&A sessions offered throughout instead of all at the end. The webinar will be recorded, and links to the recording will be sent to all registrants after the live event.
2. Biodiversity symposium: Abstract submission deadline extended to 21 July
A special IAIA biodiversity symposium, “Mainstreaming the Mitigation Hierarchy in Impact Assessment,†will be held 14-15 November 2017 in Washington, DC, USA. For more information, visit the symposium website. The symposium is being hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Institutional partners for the symposium include IDB and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Abstracts invited through 21 July: The abstract submission deadline has been extended through 21 July. Please review the guidelines and policies and then submit an abstract for presentation.
Sponsorship opportunities: IAIA is currently seeking sponsors for this biodiversity symposium. To find out the various ways your company can reach out to environmental professionals around the world, contact Bridget John. [bridget@iaia.org]
3. IAIA18 session proposals deadline: 31 July
IAIA18, “Environmental Justice in Societies in Transition,†will be held 16-19 May 2018 in Durban, South Africa. For more information, visit the conference web site. #iaia18
Session proposals due 31 July: IAIA18 session proposals are being accepted through 31 July 2017. Please review the session proposal guidelines and policies and then submit your proposal. Submissions will be closing on 31 July at 23:59 (11:59pm) US Central Standard Time.
4. Help recognize excellence and achievement in IA
Do you know a colleague, client, or institution that deserves an award? Help us recognize excellence and achievement in impact assessment by submitting a nomination for the 2018 IAIA Awards! Making a nomination is easy (and it is not necessary to be an IAIA member to do so)—just visit http://www.iaia.org/awards.php by 3 October 2017. Winners will be recognized at IAIA's annual conference in May 2018 in Durban, South Africa.​
• IAIA Global Award
• Lifetime Achievement Award
• Corporate Initiative Award
• Institutional Award
• Regional Award
• Individual Award
5. IAPA’s impact factor increases
The Clarivate analytics, formerly Thomson Reuters, Journal Citation Report (JCR) 2016 was released in mid-June. The 2016 two-year impact factor for IAIA’s journal, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, is 1.603. This is a difference of +0.603 relative to the 2015 2-year impact factor of 1.000. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal is now ranked 60/105 in Environmental Studies.
The 2016 impact factor is calculated by counting the number of citations that articles published in 2014 and 2015 received in the year 2016, divided by the number of articles published 2014-2015. The JCR does not count book-reviews, editorials, and some other types of articles.
This is an excellent outcome that demonstrates the continued development of Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal.
6. EIANZ seeks expressions of interest for SEA/SIA working groups
The Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) Special Interest Section on Impact Assessment is seeking expressions of interest from practitioners who wish to be members of working groups on strategic environmental assessment or social impact assessment.
The SEA working group will be looking at ways in which EIANZ, in partnership with organizations such as NZAIA and IAIA, can promote SEA and encourage its broader adoption. This could include support for training activities in the lead-up to the IAIA Conference in Brisbane in 2019.
The SIA working group will be aiming to provide a forum through which SIA practitioners can interact, exchange information and promote good practice. This may include developing national guidance on good practice in SIA.
Both groups will operate with a high degree of autonomy and will develop objectives and a work program for endorsement by the Special Interest Section Management Committee.
If you are interested in being involved with either working group, please email ia@eianz.org.
7. Upcoming Branch, Affiliate, and other events
IAP2 Foundations in Public Participation training
The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Foundations program is on again in London, 5-7 September 2017. Join the 17,000+ persons worldwide who have undertaken this interactive training, to build on and improve your experience in engagement, connections with stakeholders, and management of risks to projects, programs and policy development. For more information, see the IAP2 web site. Submitted by Tanya Burdett, Director, Essential Planning Ltd., Registered Planner PIA, Licensed IAP2 Trainer
