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BackAt Verian, we’ve adapted this private sector concept for the public sector, validating a model for measuring and understanding social licence in a range of contexts, and outlining the advisory principles for community consultation to deeply understand the insights that can unlock a stronger social licence.
Who needs a social licence?
Social licence is relevant to any government agency or public sector organisation whose decisions, policies, or actions have a meaningful impact on the community. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Major infrastructure projects (e.g., roads, rail, airports),
- Utilities (water, energy, and environmental management),
- Nuclear projects and infrastructure development,
- Health and social services,
- Education and public safety initiatives,
- Planning, development, and land use,
- Emergency management and disaster response,
- Regulatory and compliance activities,
- Community engagement and consultation processes.
In recent years, understanding and obtaining a social licence has become increasingly important in the successful delivery of transformation projects, as well as for organisations operating in sectors of transition that invite public participation or scrutiny.
Our focus is on two types of social licence:
- A social licence to operate – extent to which the community accepts your right to exist, operate and fulfil your mandate.
- A social licence for a specific project or objective (to act) – the extent to which the community supports you to undertake a specific project to solve a specific problem.
One can exist without the other, however both require effort to obtain and maintain.
What influences a social licence?
Both types of social licence are made up of three components:
- Legitimacy: Is the problem worth solving?
- Credibility: Is the proposed solution sound?
- Trust: Will the organisation act in the community’s best interests?
One reason social licence is complex to measure is the lack of attention to community literacy. Understanding existing levels of knowledge allows for meaningful judgement and, therefore measurement. Determining literacy also helps establish if further education will help or hinder the creation of a social licence. Critically, Verian’s measurement model first established community literacy, including:
- Knowledge about your organisation
- The problems you are trying to solve
- The solutions you are proposing
- The mandate you have been given
Understanding social license and community literacy can also help you to understand your current level of social licence and inform the path to strengthening it.
Verian’s social licence matrix:
How can social licence be measured, gained or maintained?
We adapt our social licence tool to the specific mandate or problems of our client, however our approach shares a common framework.
Verian's decision logic framework can be used to identify current levels of social licence, resulting in one of four levels:
- Withheld /withdrawn
- Acceptance / tolerance
- Approval support
- Psychological identification
Our outcomes offer a strategic diagnosis of a project or organisation’s social licence and how to strengthen it. Outputs are often built around transformative insights determined form qualitative and deliberative methods, and progress is indexed to quantify and benchmark social licence levels over time. This enables our clients to quickly understand, obtain and maintain social licence to operate or act.
Do you want to quickly understand your social licence to act or operate?
Contact us to find out more
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