Stakeholders Identification
Program
identification
Project Communication Managemet
Stakeholders are those involved in and/or affected
(negatively or positively) by the outcome and the impact of an action, project, programme.
See Type of stakeholders
Project team and
expected beneficiaries and others directly targeted by the action intervention are key
stakeholders. They are the ones who directly stand to benefit or lose from actions or who
warrant redress from any negative effects of such operations.
Indirectly Affected
Groups Many individuals or institutions may be indirectly involved or affected because of
their technical expertise or public and private interest in actions, policies or programs,
or they may be linked in some way to those who are directly affected. Such stakeholders
may include different organizations, , various intermediary or representative
organizations, private sector project/programme purposees, and technical and professional bodies.
We can create two main
categories of stakeholders:
Internal Stakeholders :
persons belonging to the project team. For
many internal stakeholders – employees, consultants, etc. – the essential
communications challenge is to generate a strong team spirit and promote improved
performance. For internal stakeholders the changes for adapting to a more effective
context may be felt as a threat. Therefore, the NGO leadership has to provide
critical messages to these stakeholders on competitiveness, strategic intent and future
opportunities in a way that is motivational, not threatening. Importantly, these
communications can form the basis for front line employee education and training, while
providing the cultural foundation for the kind of leadership the NGO expects from its
management team.
External Stakeholders :
project sponsors, beneficiaries, and other persons involved in and/or
affected (negatively or positively) by the outcome and the impact of an action, project,
programme. External stakeholders need to be addressed in
thoughtful, targeted ways. Management has to develop effective communication
strategies that enable the NGO to enter new markets with new strategic allies, while
overcoming new competitors and gaining the favor of regulators, politicians and the media.
According to the World
Bank good way to identify appropriate stakeholders is to start by asking questions. Who
are the "voiceless" for whom special efforts may have to be made? Who are the
representatives of those likely to be affected? Who is responsible for what is intended?
Who is likely to mobilize for or against what is intended? Who can make what is intended
more effective through their participation or less effective by their nonparticipation or
outright opposition? Who can contribute financial and technical resources? Whose behavior
has to change for the effort to succeed? Whose behavior has to change for the effort to
succeed?
Another way to get
honest information is to look at what sort of information is already available on the
subject. This can range from existing survey information, demographic breakdowns, or
anything else that sheds light on the issue or issues we are dealing with. It can also
include media reports.
template:
Stakeholder Roles and
Responsibilities
In order to identify the key
problems in any given situation, properly understand the nature and causes of
these problems, and maximise the benefits and minimise negative impacts, we need
to identify all groups likely to be affected (either positively or negatively)
by an intervention. 
These might include:
-
Women and men
living in poverty -
Involving beneficiaries in every stage of the programme/project is key to
ensuring we deliver programmes or projects that are relevant to their needs,
effective and that result in sustainable impact. The problems that a programme
or project will address should be identified and prioritised according to the
views of beneficiaries, and those of their representative social
organisations.
-
Programme Staff from Organization and partner organisations
- Involving staff who will be working to deliver a programme of project in
the Identification process will help ensure that they have a good
understanding the problems facing beneficiaries and enable them to support
efforts to tackle these problems more effectively.
-
Local authorities, government agencies or other stakeholders in positions of
relative power
- Engaging with this group of stakeholders will help build a shared
understanding of the problem, and could increase their willingness to be
involved and contribute
Development organizations need to keep in consideration the fct that that there will be a number of different, sometimes
conflicting, opinions and interests. In particular, it is important to be aware
that beneficiaries are not a homogenous group. There are likely to be different
interests and attitudes within groups, as well as inequalities and vulnerable
groups (such as women, children, people living with
HIV/AIDS or the disabled).
You will need to think careful about
how you include the voices of these groups. Failing to adequately address these
inequalities can damage the effectiveness and sustainability of projects and
programmes, and even exacerbate existing disparities. It is therefore vital to
analyse
gender differences and inequalities, and to take them into account from the
very beginning of a project or programme.
Target
Information Users and their Information Needs |
Target Users (stakeholders)
Project Information Categories
Authorizations (any document that
represents an agreement: project plans; budgets; organization chart; responsibility
matrix; product specifications, etc.)
Status changes (regular cost and
schedule status repot; problem logs, etc.)
Coordination (tasks and
responsibilities; relationships between groups; etc.)
|
Stakeholders analysis
(world Bank - IPDET)
|
Individuals, groups, or agencies |
To make policy |
To make operational decisions |
To provide input to evaluation |
To react |
For interest only |
|
Developer of the program |
|
Funder of the program |
|
Person/agency who identified the local need |
|
Boards/agencies who approved deliver of the program at local
level |
|
Local funder |
|
Other providers of resources (facilities, supplies, in-kind
contributions) |
|
Top managers of agencies delivering the program |
|
Program managers |
|
Program directors |
|
Sponsor of the evaluation |
|
Direct clients of the program |
|
Indirect beneficiaries of the program (parents, children,
spouses, employers) |
|
Potential adopters of the program |
|
Groups excluded from the program |
|
Groups perceiving negative side effects of the program or the
evaluation |
|
Groups losing power as a result of use of the program
|
|
Groups suffering from lost opportunities as a result of the
program |
|
Public/community members |
|
Others |
Deliverables of
stakeholders analysis may include:
1a) Internal and External Stakeholders Checklist, identifying
the full range of potential stakeholders, characterizing the change in positioning that
often occurs during the transition to competition, and outlining how the NGO can leverage
these changes to its strategic advantage; and
1b) Stakeholders Identification and Strategy Development
Insights Document, a customized document (based on the interactions during the
residential seminar between participants and the instructors) that indicates where the NGO
stands: a) in terms of its relations with each potential stakeholders group;
b) in terms of remedial steps it may need to take; and c) in terms of ways it
can
project major takeholders roles table
Project Stakeholder Analysis Template
-----
Continue: Analyse the communication needs of each
stakeholders
For further details see :
Analyzing your Audience
Creating Your
Organizational Voice and Image
What Do They Want and Expect to See -
Part
of the process of getting to know your audience, whether it is internal or external, is
getting to know what it is they need, want, or expect from you, and why. You also want to
figure out what they are really looking for, even when they are not sure. The next
question is whether you have it to give them, and if so, how.
Involving Stakeholders
The first challenge will be to identify the stakeholders. This
can be done by looking at documents about the intervention and talking with
program staff, local officials, and program participants. Stakeholders can be
interviewed initially, or brought together in small groups.
Stakeholder meetings can be held periodically, or a more formal
structure can be established. The evaluation manager may set up an advisory or
steering committee structure. Tasks can be assigned to individuals or to smaller
sub-committees if necessary.
Often there is one key client sponsoring or requesting the
evaluation. The needs of this client will largely shape the evaluation. The
evaluator, who listens and facilitates discussions about the evaluation’s focus,
can summarize, prepare written notes, and provide key stakeholders with options
about ways the evaluation can be approached.
By engaging the stakeholders early on, everyone will have a
better understanding of the intervention and the challenges it faces in
implementation. In addition, the evaluation team will be better informed as to
key issues for the evaluation and about what information is needed, when, and by
whom. Meeting with key stakeholders helps ensure that the evaluation will not
miss major critical issues. It also helps get a "buy in" on the evaluation as
stakeholders perceive the evaluation as potentially helpful in attempting to
answer their questions.
The extent to which stakeholders are actively involved in the
design and implementation of the evaluation depends on several factors. For
example, stakeholders may not be able to afford to take time away from their
regular duties, or there may be political reasons why the evaluation needs to be
seen as independent.
While it may be somewhat unwieldy, involvement of stakeholders
in this first step is likely to:
- generate better questions
- generate support for the evaluation
- increase access to whatever information is available
- enhance the acceptance of
other
resources: IDCR
Identifying the Intended Use(s) of an Evaluation