Incorporating Social Sustainability Dimensions into Infrastructure Delivery Systems: A Qualitative Analysis of Stakeholders’ Perspectives

Abstract

This study explored the benefits of incorporating social sustainability into the delivery of infrastructure projects within South Africa. The perspective is from that of the stakeholders, As a phenomenological study, it relied on semistructured interviews for gathering data. Post-interview transcripts were analyzed thematically, and pre-set themes were utilized to ensure construct validity, a critical component for enabling credibility in qualitative research. Findings revealed the efficacy of social sustainability to enable the successful delivery of projects when mainstreamed into the delivery process. However, stakeholders highlighted the costly and time-consuming nature of the consultation processes— an integral part of social sustainability—as a shortcoming. This exploratory study contributes to the development of a common definition for social sustainability within South Africa’s infrastructure delivery system. Further studies will attempt to attain statistical generalization of its findings using questionnaire surveys for a more representative sample. It is expected that these findings will be able to contribute to the growing discourse on the phenomenon in developing countries where there is increasing advocacy for using project delivery to combat social inequality. This study’s novelty stems from its bid to explore the benefits accruable from the integration of social sustainability into infrastructure delivery processes.