The term Social Site Characterisation describes the process of collecting and incorporating information about stakeholder views and about socio-economic, political and cultural characteristics of a particular area. A definition by the inventors of the term can be found at the website of
The Global CCS institute.
This page also contains a link to a report from the
CSIRO in Australia describing application of Social Site Characterisation. The authors of this report have also written a short article about Social Site Characterisation which can be downloaded
here.
Applied to SiteChar, phase one of the Social Site Characterisation has been completed. To investigate local circumstances relevant to the start-up of local CO2 capture and storage, we have conducted four different but related research activities:
- Firstly, we have collected information on relevant social site characteristics such as the local economy, jobs, community characteristics, history, etc., especially when these aspects come to influence the realisation of large infrastructural or industrial operations.
- Secondly, we have conducted a media analysis of local newspapers to see if and how stakeholders refer to CO2 capture and storage technology.
- Thirdly, we have conducted interviews with relevant local stakeholders.
- Fourthly, we have conducted a survey among a sample from the local public to measure awareness, knowledge and perceptions CO2 capture and storage.