2534 C) Impact & Scalability Key assumption: Project interventions can deliver social benefits at sufficient scale and duration to offset the socio-economic costs of transition, while supporting ecological recovery. Underlying assumptions: • Transition costs and socio-economic impacts are identified early, remain manageable, and are offset through timely and adequate compensation or support measures. • Support mechanisms effectively reach those most vulnerable to adverse project impacts and generate benefits that scale from individuals to communities and across the wider landscape. The table below outlines the key questions to ask and the information to collect at each stage of the project to test these assumptions: Phase Key Questions Pre-feasibility and feasibility • How many people could be adversely affected by the project? What is the level of community dependency on natural resources? • Which households or locations bear the highest transition costs? What economic opportunities or alternative livelihoods exist? • How accessible are affected communities? Does the project team have the logistical and organizational capacity to deploy support mechanisms at scale? Design and planning • What are the unit economics and market viability of alternatives? Do proposed alternatives meet food security and income needs? • Are enabling conditions in place (market access, logistics, social services, infrastructure)? Have transport and market bottlenecks been stress-tested? • Are offset mechanisms commensurate with the magnitude and duration of costs? Are targeting criteria clear and based on vulnerability? • Can the project effectively demonstrate its capacity to reconcile trade-offs between ecological timelines and social priorities? Early implementation • Are alternatives profitable and stable across seasons? • Are support mechanisms timely and reaching intended beneficiaries? • Are benefits scaling from households to communities and across the landscape? Midline • Are outcomes stable across seasons and shocks? Are bottlenecks resolved? Endline/Close • Did alternatives remain viable and deliver net positive outcomes at household, community, and landscape levels? The table below provides key examples of the data to collect at each stage of the project to test the assumptions detailed above:
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