soss team successfully finished a socio-economic and demographic study in the Peshkabir area “Block 3” of Batel sub-district in Summel district of the Dukok governorate of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq. The study was submitted to DNO Iraq AS, an international energy company based in Norway. There were two primary objectives of this study:

• Providing DNO with a current overview of the demographic, social, and economic status in Peshkabir and the level and perceptions of households’ understanding of DNO’s operations in the area;
• Present recommendations to DNO for the improvement of socio-economic status of Peshkabir’s villages.

The study, conducted in June and July 2019 and lasted in January 2020, involved five technical experts, a logistics officer, seven field surveyors, a data entry officer, and a code checker. The study team used a three-tiered approach, by locations, for data collection: (1) district; (2) sub-district; and (3) villages.

At the district and sub-district levels, the study team conducted 14 in-depth interviews (IDI), which included the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Advisor in the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), the Mayor of Summel, Sub-mayor of Batel, Director of Batel municipality, and DNO CSRs. At the village level, the study team conducted 280 interviews with the heads of households consisting of 1,787 individuals (52% males and 48% females). Across all stakeholders, the study team conducted three focus group discussions (FGD) with a total of 27 participants: (1) fourteen DNO national employees, (2) seven village heads (Mukhtars), and (3) six youth and women.