Back to Home

FAQs

Everything you need to know about Orbit E&S social risk analysis services

1.What data sources do you use for social risk analysis?

We use two input streams.

Public sources

  • •Local and national media coverage, including investigative reporting
  • •Regulatory and permitting records, public notices, inspection findings
  • •Court cases, administrative complaints, legal filings
  • •NGO and community organization reports
  • •Public consultation records, hearing minutes, parliamentary or council records
  • •Social and community channels when they show verifiable mobilization signals

Client sources (when provided)

  • •ESIA, ESMF, ESMP, and supporting studies
  • •Stakeholder Engagement Plan and consultation log
  • •Land acquisition and resettlement instruments (RAP, LRP)
  • •Indigenous Peoples instruments (IPPF, IPP) and FPIC records where relevant
  • •Permit conditions and commitments register
  • •GRM logs and case handling data
  • •E&S Action Plans, covenants, supervision reports, incident reports

2.How do you rate confidence and avoid false positives?

We separate signal detection from decision claims.

  • •We attach a confidence rating to every red flag: low, medium, high
  • •We state why, with source quality and triangulation notes
  • •We separate facts, allegations, and interpretations

How we reduce false positives

  • •Triangulation: we do not escalate a signal based on a single source when stakes are high
  • •Momentum checks: we track whether a signal is persistent or accelerating
  • •Influence weighting: we focus on actors with proven capacity to mobilize, litigate, or delay permits
  • •Evidence thresholds: we use "watch" status when evidence remains weak, not "risk" status
  • •Audit trail: every key claim links to a traceable source or client document reference

3.How does this differ from an ESIA or stakeholder engagement plan?

An ESIA and SEP are core compliance instruments. Orbit is a decision layer built for dynamic risk.

ESIA and SEP

  • •Largely static, produced at defined milestones
  • •Focus on identifying impacts and planned mitigation measures
  • •Often weak on momentum, coordination, and commitment drift over time

Orbit E&S

  • •Tracks escalation risk over time using signals and commitments
  • •Converts issues into decision outputs: red flags, triggers, priority actions, governance notes
  • •Adds operational accountability: what is at risk now, what to do next, who to engage first

Orbit does not replace ESIA or SEP. Orbit tells you whether your environmental and social risks and commitments are moving toward delay risk despite those instruments.

4.Do you align outputs with IFC Performance Standards (IFC PS) and WB Environmental and Social Framework (ESF)?

Yes, when it is relevant to the client's financing context.

What alignment means in practice

  • •We map flagged risks to IFC PS and or WB ESF themes to support lender and IC conversations
  • •We translate gaps into action language: mitigations, responsibilities, timelines, and monitoring indicators
  • •We support ESAP drafting inputs and supervision priorities for reporting and covenants

What we do not claim

  • •We do not provide legal opinions.
  • •We do not certify compliance. We flag potential gaps and evidence based risks for decision and follow up.

5.What do you need from the client to run an Early Warning Scan?

Minimum inputs for strong accuracy

  • •Project basics: location, footprint, schedule, key permits, delivery milestones
  • •Stakeholder baseline: known affected groups, engagement history, grievance themes
  • •Documents: ESIA, SEP, permits and conditions, commitments list, GRM summary or logs if available
  • •Any known incidents: protests, media spikes, legal disputes, enforcement actions
  • •Your decision question: investment, permit, escalation, board update, lender update

If you cannot share documents, we can run a public source scan. Confidence ratings will be lower and we will state the limitation explicitly.

6.What do you deliver in a 48-hour Social Risk Snapshot?

A triage package designed to support fast decisions.

Deliverables

  • •Risk category heatmap with brief evidence notes
  • •Top 3 red flags with source trail and why they matter for delivery
  • •Early triggers to watch over the next 30 days
  • •Highest influence opposing stakeholder or coalition hypothesis
  • •First sprint action list: the 3 moves that reduce escalation risk fastest

What you should expect

  • •Strong direction, not full diligence depth
  • •Clear "what to check next" guidance and what inputs would raise confidence in a deeper scan