The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria required skills and knowledge range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to engage stakeholders in developing a social sustainability strategy with clear purpose, proposed activities and next steps.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Assessors must be satisfied that the candidate can competently and consistently apply the skills covered in this unit of competency in new and different situations and contexts. Critical aspects of assessment and evidence include:

researching approaches to social sustainability that are proactive

facilitating processes to develop a social sustainability strategy

evaluating the implications of the social sustainability strategy for the organisation

documenting the strategy and recommending the next steps

evaluating the strategy against criteria and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or a simulated workplace environment.

Assessment should emphasise a workplace context and procedures found in the candidate’s workplace.

This unit of competency may be assessed with other relevant units addressing sustainability at the enterprise level or other units requiring the exercise of the skills and knowledge covered by this unit.

The competencies covered by this unit would be demonstrated by an individual working alone or as part of a team.

Method of assessment

In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.

Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.

The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work-like environment.

Required skills

Required skills include:

researching and interpreting complex information

using/adapting strategic planning processes

analysing the impact of strategic plans on all parts of the organisation, including operations, staffing and supply chain

communicating with a range of stakeholders

developing reports and recommendations

interpreting legislative/regulatory requirements

managing risk

managing change

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes:

social sustainability issues, practices and approaches in the organisation and its value chain that may provide strategic opportunities for the business, such as:

human rights and community issues in the supply chain, such as child labour, exploitation of labour, access to decent work, supply and quality of food and water, and access to education

cultural diversity and heritage

the impact of environmental issues on people’s health and lifestyle

re-design of products and/or services

supporting and actualising innovations

social license to operate

corporate social responsibility

creating shared value

shared ownership models

social purpose

social enterprises

conscious capitalism

social benefit bonds

stakeholders and their roles in the organisation

strategic planning processes

managing risk

managing change

legislative/regulatory requirements that have social sustainability implications, such as:

Competition and Consumer Act 2010

Commonwealth and state/territory anti-discrimination legislation

Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999

State/territory and local government planning legislation

voluntary codes and standards that have social sustainability implications, such as:

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on social responsibility

industry codes, principles and covenants

international covenants and agreements, such as United Nations (UN) declarations and trade agreements

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Purpose of social sustainability strategy

Purpose of a social sustainability strategy refers to the organisation’s reasons or aim for developing a proactive strategy which might be stated or implicit in business goals, values or strategies. Examples may include:

enacting core values

identifying and/or enacting a social purpose

becoming a leader in social sustainability and related areas, such as corporate citizenship

establishing long-term business sustainability by creating shared value

identifying business opportunities

improving financial returns

applying voluntary standards or codes, e.g. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting and ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on social responsibility

Facilitate processes

Facilitate in this context means ‘make it happen’. Some tasks may be allocated to others; however, facilitating requires a meaningful contribution to planning what happens and responsibility for how it happens. This includes functions such as:

planning activities

running activities

briefing and/or managing external consultants, facilitators and similar

guiding, managing or coaching other personnel

arranging budget

It assumes that all relevant stakeholders will be encouraged and supported to participate in the processes.

The processes will use and/or adapt strategic analysis and planning techniques, such as

political, economic, social and technological (PEST) analysis

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis (SWOT)

scenario planning

envisioning

balanced scorecard

value chain mapping

current state-future state

brainstorming

strengths, opportunities, aspirations, results (SOAR)

appreciative enquiry

Strategic opportunities

Strategic opportunities refers to areas of activity where implementing programs, innovations and/or improvements in social sustainability also provide opportunities to advance and/or improve the business in sustainable ways

Impact on resources and systems

Impact on resources and systems may include:

changes to job roles and responsibilities

additional staff

budget for new initiatives

processes for planning and managing change

processes to support innovations

changes to organisational vision, goals, structures, policies and procedures

workplace health and safety

Progressing the strategy

Depending on the content of the strategic plan various steps and implementation approaches might be appropriate to progressing the strategy, such as:

improvement projects

new programs

amended policies and procedures

product/service innovations

review of organisational values and structures

the organisation revising its values and goals to accommodate new perspectives of social sustainability

Evaluation criteria

Evaluation of the strategy is not dependent on implementing the strategy; however, where implementation has occurred it should be incorporated into the evaluation.

Evaluation criteria may relate to issues, such as:

the purpose of the social sustainability strategy

the strategic planning process

stakeholder engagement in the strategy development and/or implementation

implementation processes

outcomes of the implementation

social sustainability metrics

other business metrics

Equitable participation

Equitable participation may be facilitated by:

developing protocols for communication and providing feedback

managing communications and group dynamics

activities that encourage critical thinking, new ideas and innovations

activities that recognise different ways of communicating and/or thinking, e.g. verbal, written and visual

encouraging respect for cultural diversity

encouraging understanding of and respect for diverse interests and differing opinions

providing information and/or activities that acknowledge the range of drivers for and barriers to social sustainability

providing information that targets different levels of awareness and commitment among stakeholders

using interpreters or translated information

addressing barriers to communication