The LGU's appraisal of social soundness of the project should consider:
• Compatibility of the project with the sociocultural environment in which it is to be introduced;
• Likelihood that practices or institutions introduced among the project's initial target population will be diffused among other groups (demonstration effect);
• Social impact or distribution of benefits and burdens among different groups, both within and outside the project area; and
• The differential impact of the project on women and men due to gender-based roles, responsibilities, access to resources, and power relations, as well as needs and constraints.
The assessment of sociocultural feasibility requires that the values, beliefs, social structures, and organization of the target beneficiaries be taken into serious consideration. Innovations to be introduced by the project should cause minimal social disruption. If social disruption is inevitable (e.g., the need for resettlement), the project design must consider the costs of these disruptions and incorporate approaches (e.g., inducing attitudinal or behavioral changes among participants through intensive information campaigns and participative public forums) that would ensure gradual acceptance of the innovation.