Developing a Social Value Model for Oman’s National Infrastructure Planning: A Hermeneutical Approach

Subjective interpretation of what is valuable to society is paramount for evaluating the merits of an intervention. As a result, social value (SV) and its evaluation go beyond merely objective and quantitative evaluations. Such an evaluation is organic and has to do with the continuous challenges of being in the world with others, thus using different approaches to overcome social and environmental issues. Emerging studies on SV have overlooked how non-Western societies perceive SV in development projects. Hermeneutics theory is suitable to reveal SV’s social dimensions and explore individuals’ perceptions through their lived experiences beyond quantitative modelling. Therefore, this study applies a hermeneutical approach to SV to dissect the lived experiences of individuals working in national infrastructure planning in a non-Western society, which is Oman. The paper analyses 11 semi-structured interviews conducted with governmental decision-makers about Oman’s infrastructure development. Findings present a total of 14 outputs and 11 outcomes for developing an SV model mapped across different national infrastructure sectors. These sectors are energy, ICT, transport, waste, and water. The findings determine that different sectors could provide different forms of SV, with an energy sector project being the highest contributor of SV to a community.