What is the Condie & Condie social licence framework?
The Condie & Condie (2025) social licence framework — published as "A graphical theory of social license" in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (12:433) by CSIRO researchers Scott A. Condie and Corrine M. Condie — is a method for mapping social licence objectively using attitudinal data rather than intuition. It plots any operation or sector on two axes: community interest (how much a community is engaged with or activated on the issue) and net social acceptability (the balance of support against opposition). A project's position on that graph places it in a defined zone rather than on a vague spectrum.
The zones the framework produces
Plotting interest against acceptability produces distinct zones, including a Social Obligation zone (low engagement, where acceptance can't be assumed and a duty to engage sits with the proponent), a Contested zone (high interest with divided or negative acceptability — where opposition organises and projects stall), and a Social Licence zone (acceptance held with genuine community awareness). Knowing which zone a project sits in, and which direction it's drifting, tells a project team something a sentiment percentage never can: not just whether people approve, but whether they're engaged, and what kind of risk that combination creates.
Why Earshot uses it
Earshot scores Australian renewable energy projects against the Condie & Condie framework because it turns a scattered public record into a position that is objective, comparable over time, and grounded in peer-reviewed research rather than a proprietary black box. It means a project's reading in one month can be compared against the last, and one project can be compared against another, on the same footing.
Source: Condie, S. A. & Condie, C. M. (2025). A graphical theory of social license: applications to climate action, renewable energy and sustainable food production. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12:433. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04741-y