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Stakeholder Engagement PackVersion 1.0

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Purpose of this document

• Ensuring the right people are engaged to the right amount is critical to the success of any project

• This pack provides guidance and tools for the completion of an initial stakeholder analysis

• Its main purpose is to encourage your organisation to think about stakeholders in a strategic and directed way

• The materials form a template for activity and can be adapted to best suit your situation

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Introduction

• A stakeholder is a group or an individual who have a stake in the success or failure of your project as a whole

• Not just funders, they also include all parties which are in contact with the project e.g. audiences, competitors and project employees

• Stakeholder analysis is the first step of the communications process and allows for a structured and economical use of your communication channels

ConductStakeholder

Analysis

ImplementCommunicatio

nPlan

Develop Communicatio

nPlan

EvaluateCommunicatio

nActivities

General stakeholder/communications methodology

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The commitment curve - background

• This is a diagram which outlines the various relationships stakeholders can have with a project

• There is a need to establish

a) where a stakeholder is currently?

b) where you want the stakeholder to be?

c) how are you going to get them there?

• NB not all stakeholders need to be at the highest level of commitment e.g. for stakeholders such as press, the level of understanding may be sufficient

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The commitment curve

Degree of supportfor the project

AWARENESS

UNDERSTANDING BUY-IN

COMMITMENT

confusionunaware

negativeperception

involvement aborted

decision not to get involved

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The commitment curve - definitions

Level of Commitment

Definition Key Questions

Contact • Informal conversations about upcoming change.

Awareness • Encounters the project and realises that the change is imminent

• Has a high-level awareness of the content and context of the upcoming project

How well is each group informed about the project and its issues?

Do they realise that they will be affected by the issue?

Understanding • Accepts the nature and intent of the project How well do the stakeholders actually understand what the project involves and how it affects them?

Buy-in • Works toward project objectives by testing the new concepts and implications

• Able to articulate commitment to the goals of the project

To what extent is everyone committed to and enthusiastic about the project?

Is there evidence of positive support/endorsement for the project?

Commitment • Articulates the change as an accepted norm• Demonstrates personal ownership of the project

How much real involvement and participation does the audience demonstrate?

To what extent is this project and its issues institutionalised?

Is the change regarded as a matter of course?

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Stakeholder analysis

WHY?

• A Stakeholder Analysis is conducted to establish the commitment of the people involved in your project

• These are the people you need to buy into your activity

• Failing to get this commitment from stakeholders can ultimately result in failure

WHEN?

• After the assessment of the current conditions

• Prior to the development of a communication strategy

• In order for a project to be successful, you need the early buy-in of the key stakeholders

WHAT?

• Identifies the key stakeholders in the project

• Gives insight into the client audience and environment e.g.

– current and target commitment levels– motivation for involvement in the project– the degree to which each stakeholder's

commitment is important and – what role each will play in the project

HOW?

1. Identify stakeholders 2. Determine commitment level 3. Assess needs/concerns 4. Define change role

details on following slides…

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1. Identify stakeholders

• First, determine the project’s key stakeholders—the groups or individuals who have a stake in the success or failure of the organization as a whole. These may include NDPBs, other A&COs, audience groups, funders etc

• Determine if and how you will break up groups of stakeholders: per individual, department, interest group, project team, etc. Keep in mind how the stakeholder/stakeholder group will be affected by the change. If a stakeholder group has members with differing communication needs, you probably need to break down the group into separate stakeholders.

• List the stakeholders on the template under the heading Stakeholder

• Using your judgement and experience, determine the level of Influence on the project for each stakeholder: high, medium or low

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2. Determine commitment level

• Review the Commitment Curve to understand the different stages of commitment.  The Commitment Curve is used as the basis for evaluating the stakeholders' current and target level of acceptance.

• Determine where each stakeholder/stakeholder group's level of commitment is on the curve by using previous meetings and internal knowledge. Use information about the stakeholders’ past experiences with your organisation to predict how that group or person might react. In addition, you can conduct high-level interviews and observations with people other than the stakeholder to get a different perspective of that stakeholder.

• Document the commitment level for each stakeholder/stakeholder group on the template under the heading Current Level.

• Determine per stakeholder what the required level of commitment is to ensure a successful implementation—where they need to be on the change curve. Look for people or groups with major influence in the organization; most often, higher levels of influence require more commitment.  Again, use both formal and informal sources of information about the stakeholders.

• Document the required level on the template under the heading Target Level

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3. Assess behaviours/concerns/risks

• Gather insight from each stakeholder/stakeholder group as to the key concerns and/or barriers that they might have about the new solution or upcoming change. Use interviews, informal discussions and the “grapevine” to gather this insight. Past experience with prior projects can also be a key indicator to how the stakeholder will react. Keep in mind that each individual responds differently to change, which can lead them to feel some level of anxiety or resistance.

• Record the key motivations for involvement in the project on the template under the heading Motivation

• Record the risks on the template under the heading Key concerns.

• Using internal project knowledge and past experience, outline the risks to the project if these identified concerns are not addressed

• Record the risks on the template under the heading Risks if not addressed.

• Where appropriate, identify the specific key contacts within the stakeholder organisation

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4. Define role

• Not every stakeholder will need to be engaged with in a different way. If you classify them into roles, then, if appropriate, each group can be addressed together.

• Review the five key roles that a stakeholder can play:

– Partners support the project in several ways, contributing finance, staff resource, direction and more. e.g. partners in joint ventures or co-locations

– Sponsors legitimise a change initiative through their show of support. They provide the essential resources to ensure the success of an initiative. e.g. major funders

– Advocates may not have any legitimate power to influence the project, but nonetheless have a stake in its outcome.  They have supported the program to this point and will probably continue to do so.  They can also help maintain sponsors’ commitment. e.g. high profile members of A&C community

– Change Agents play key roles in setting up operations for the project. They champion the change through visible ownership of the project and through formal and informal communication. e.g. major suppliers, project team

– Targets are the individuals or groups affected by the project and are the focus of the change effort. As such, they play an important role in the short-term (achieving change) and long-term (sustaining change) success of a project. e.g. audiences or market sectors

• Analyse the different stakeholders to determine what Change Role each of them has. The Change Agents will be the most challenging to identify.  They should consist of people or groups that have the most influence over the targets.  Within the identified group of stakeholders, a differentiation can be made, based on their influence level, their current attitude towards the change and their concerns.

• Document the roles in the appropriate place on the template under the heading Change Role.

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5. Ongoing management

• Using the stakeholder management register (Excel document) to monitor stakeholder contact on an ongoing basis as part of the project management approach

• This process can then provide a direct input into any communication plan (templates available upon request)

• It is recommended that the stakeholder register is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that all activities are appropriate to the analysis i.e. no key stakeholders’ needs are being ignored

• To confirm achievement of a level of commitment, recognize indicators and symptoms that identify the actual stage of commitment achieved. For example:

– What signs show a sponsor being at the level of commitment, or a target being at the understanding level? – How can these levels be interpreted in ordinary, day-to-day behaviour? – In addition to this assessment, how can these insights into different commitment levels assist us to plan and

manage change journeys more successfully?

• Each stakeholder experiences crunch points at different stages of commitment. Sponsors show visible support for the program or show no interest. Change agents either go with the project’s plans, or they remain static.

• At these crunch points, focus additional energy on activities that both educate and expand understanding. For example, include education workshops or one-on-one meetings to enhance a sponsor’s level of commitment, engage the sponsor in strengthening ownership by the change agents, or introduce targets to the proposed benefits of the project and the direct effect the activities will have on them.

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Stakeholder analysis template

<see accompanying Excel spreadsheet>