Social Analysis Sourcebook

Indicators, Tools and Methods for Social Analysis

Links to other resources on Social Analysis

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This introductory chapter explains how social analysis helps to achieve the Bank's poverty reduction mission by promoting equitable and sustainable development through the design of strategies of inclusion, empowerment and security.

The five entry points of social analysis are diversity and gender; institutions, rules and behavior; stakeholders; participation; and social risk. This chapter defines them, describes how to use them, and lists the strategic outputs that they should yield.

This chapter offers practical recommendations to ensure that the findings of Social Analysis will be incorporated into project design and implementation.

Social assessment is both a prerequisite and an integral part of social analysis. This chapter has advice and information for task teams, clients and social scientists who will be involved in making the assessment.

The Way Forward describes some key lessons and future trends of social analysis

This section contains a decision-maker's tool for social analysis, descriptions of other relevant tools and methods, and a brief history of social analysis at the World Bank.

This section contains advice and resources for applying social analysis to projects in the World Bank's different lending areas.

This sourcebook on Social Analysis (click here for a printable version) presents a conceptual framework for social analysis and describes how task teams can incorporate its principles into project design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. (For an executive summary of this sourcebook, click here.) The sourcebook is not a policy statement and does not prescribe any mandatory requirements. Instead, it provides guidance on good practice to improve the quality and impact of social analysis by harnessing it to examine the social opportunities, constraints and likely impacts of Bank-supported operations, based on the lessons learned during the past five years. (To learn more about the evolution of social analysis in the World Bank, click here.) The sourcebook describes a systematic approach that places social analysis in the service of poverty reduction by focusing directly on equity and social sustainability to improve social development outcomes. It describes an approach that is open-ended in terms of social development outcomes and yet practical. Click here to learn more about the goal of the sourcebook.
This electronic version of the sourcebook is self-paced and supports easy navigation of its contents for quick access to specific information and learning. For a quick searchable overview of the sourcebook or to print, click here. To learn more about Social Analysis and the World Bank, follow the navigation buttons on the left and links provided, starting with why we should do Social Analysis.
Five entry points for Social Analysis are offered to understand social complexities. These point out the parts of society most relevant to investment projects and suggest methods for studying them. This allows the task team to draw up a realizable plan of action with the confidence that they have overlooked nothing critical. (Click here to learn more about the five entry points for initiating Social Analysis.)
The Bank's instruments of Social Analysis include: (1) upstream macro-social analysis, undertaken by the Bank as inputs into the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), or to support policy formulation and sector strategies; (2) project-level social analysis, undertaken by the Bank for sociological appraisal of the opportunities, constraints and likely impacts as an integral part of project appraisal, to examine whether the project's likely social development outcomes justify Bank support; and (3) social assessment, undertaken by the Borrower to incorporate stakeholders' views into the project design and to establish a participatory process for implementation and monitoring. (Click here to learn more about the three approaches to Social Analysis and why we should do Social Analysis.)

The Way Forward Social analysis has evolved considerably over the past two decades. This sourcebook on good practices summarizes good practices in the Bank's work on social analysis. (Click here to learn more about key lessons and future trends of social analysis.)
Applications of Social Analysis have resulted in specific guidelines for ten sectors including energy, power, mining, oil and gas, transport, HIV/AIDS, rural development, natural resource management, water supply and sanitation, and education. (Click here to learn more about the application of Social Analysis in Bank projects.)

This electronic version of the Social Analysis Guideline is developed for and sponsored by the Social Analysis Thematic Group, Social Development Department, The World Bank. Please send any communications to socialanalysis@worldbank.org.