Collecting Baseline Socio-Economic Data for Socio-Economic Impact Assessment: The Metlakatla Membership Census

Socio-economic Impact Assessment (SIA) is a tool to assess the social, economic, health, and cultural impacts of a proposed plan or activity. Developing good baseline information is a crucial step in SIA because changes to valued social components may be more easily identified and assessed when they are compared to a baseline. For SIAs in Aboriginal communities, baseline socio-economic data are often unavailable or deficient. I examine community surveys as a tool to collect Aboriginal community-specific baseline data, through a case study of the Metlakatla Membership Census, a census-style survey designed and implemented in collaboration with the Metlakatla First Nation. I investigate the development, design, and administration of the census in 2015 and 2016, the first two years in which it was conducted. I discuss elements of the census that were successful, identify limitations and lessons learned, and make recommendations for similar initiatives in other settings.