This study was carried out by a team composed of better regulation experts and social policy experts from The Evaluation Partnership (TEP) and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and was commissioned to support mutual learning on social impact assessment within the Open Method of Coordination on Social Protection and Social Inclusion (OMC SPSI). The overall objective of the study is to describe, compare and analyse the different ways in which SIA is currently carried out in the EU and to identify recommendations for the implementation of effective social impact assessment systems and for effective social impact assessment analysis. In particular, the study is meant to provide:
• a general overview (mapping) of the social impact assessment arrangements that are currently in place in the EU at the national and (where applicable) regional level;
• an in depth comparative analysis of a limited set of well developed / particularly interesting social impact assessment systems, also focussing on the way in which these systems have developed over time in response to challenges, problems encountered;
• an in depth comparative analysis of a number of concrete examples of social impact assessments carried out in the framework of these SIA systems;
• conclusions and recommendations on how to implement effective social impact assessment systems and how to effectively perform social impact assessment analysis at the national/regional level.