Stakeholder mapping

Purpose

To understand to what extent the incumbent actors can become drivers of change within the current institutional landscape and to help create broader coalitions for reform.

Inner logic (rationale)

Stakeholders are individuals or groups who have a stake in a given public policy and are susceptible to be affected –positively or negatively - by their formulation and implementation.

From the onset of the INSPIRED dialogue process, the Hosting Structure needs to conduct a preliminary assessment of those stakeholders that should be invited to jointly identify the main problems in the selected policy field, as well as the opportunities for addressing these problems through policy-making. Yet this first appraisal needs to be refined through additional collective exercises, in which the participants themselves should point out which other stakeholders are missing and who should be invited to the process.

As is usually the case, the stakeholders will have different degrees of leverage over the policy-making process. While some actors will be in a position to take direct decisions or even allocate funds for specific purposes, others might compensate their lack of political power with their capacity to propose original choices or to put external pressure on policy-makers. Throughout the mapping exercise the Hosting Structure should be able to understand not only where the power lies, but also to what extent the incumbent actors can become drivers of change within the current institutional landscape. In other words, it must identify stakeholders that are relevant (from an objective perspective) and committed to promote change (subjective dimension).

To this aim, the mapping of stakeholders should be carried out with an eye on the two core values of the Operating Model. In a process aimed at promoting inclusiveness and participation, it is equally important to identify (a) those actors that can influence policy making and (b) those that will be affected by it. For the sake of inclusiveness, the Hosting Structure must take the risk of inviting into the process those stakeholders that might lack influence but are strongly affected by the policy at stake.

Diagram

Stakeholders grid p. 112 of handbook with explanations.

Alternatively a) salience model, b) power-interest matrix

Inputs

Resources and skills needed

Outputs

· If carried out with the participation of stakeholders, the procedure can be essential for building legitimacy and policy ownership

· Identify power relations and issues of contention as well as potential reform coalitions

· Fosters the creation of policy networks both within and beyond the scope of the dialogue

· It helps to create coalitions for reform as broad as possible and involve otherwise neglected actors

References

Used in fields as different as conflict resolution, business administration, environmental health sciences decision making, and project management.

Mapping techniques include the following analysis techniques being used by aid agencies, governments, or consultant groups:

  • Lynda Bourne's Stakeholder Circle, "a five-step methodology that provides a flexible approach to understanding and managing the relationships within and around the activity", involves identification, prioritization, visualization, engagement, and monitoring of stakeholder aspects

  • Mendelow's power-interest grid, which considers stakeholder "power and expectations (and therefore their likely interest) ... to determine the potential influence of stakeholder groups"

  • Murray-Webster and Simon's three-dimensional grid mapping power, interest, and attitude, for better "stimulating thought and informing the project or program manager in a truly meaningful way"

  • Imperial College London's influence-interest grid, "plotting stakeholders on a graph in terms of their influence over the project and their interest in the project"

  • The former Office of Government Commerce's power-impact grid, mapping "the level of impact of the change on [stakeholder] and the importance these stakeholders [have] to the success of the change project"

Draft:

Stakeholders are individuals or groups who have a stake in a given public policy and are susceptible to be affected –positively or negatively - by their formulation and implementation. The purpose of Stakeholders' Mapping is to understand to what extent the incumbent actors can become drivers of change within the current institutional landscape and to help create broader coalitions for reform.

Stakeholders' role in INSPIRED

From the onset of the INSPIRED dialogue process, the Hosting Structure needs to conduct a preliminary assessment of those stakeholders that should be invited to jointly identify the main problems in the selected policy field, as well as the opportunities for addressing these problems through policy-making. Yet, this first appraisal needs to be refined through additional collective exercises, in which the participants themselves should point out which other stakeholders are missing and who should be invited to the process.

As is usually the case, the stakeholders will have different degrees of leverage over the policy-making process. While some actors will be in a position to take direct decisions or even allocate funds for specific purposes, others might compensate their lack of political power with their capacity to propose original choices or to put external pressure on policy-makers.

Throughout the mapping exercise, the Hosting Structure should be able to understand not only where the power lies, but also to what extent the incumbent actors can become drivers of change within the current institutional landscape. In other words, it must identify stakeholders that are relevant (from an objective perspective) and committed to promoting change (subjective dimension).

To this aim, the mapping of stakeholders should be carried out with an eye on the two core values of the Operating Model. In a process aimed at promoting inclusiveness and participation, it is equally important to identify (a) those actors that can influence policymaking and, (b) those that will be affected by it. For the sake of inclusiveness, the Hosting Structure must take the risk of inviting into the process those stakeholders that might lack influence but are strongly affected by the policy at stake.

The main input will be bringing the resources and skills needed for completing INSPIRED-led projects.

The main outputs include, but are not limited to

  • Building legitimacy and policy ownership;

  • Identifying power relations and issues of contention as well as potential reform coalitions;

  • Fostering the creation of policy networks both within and beyond the scope of the dialogue;

  • Creating coalitions for reform as broad as possible and involve otherwise neglected actors.

References

This is an approach used in fields as different as conflict resolution, business administration, environmental health sciences decision making, and project management. Mapping techniques include the following analysis techniques being used by aid agencies, governments, or consultant groups:

  • Lynda Bourne's Stakeholder Circle, "a five-step methodology that provides a flexible approach to understanding and managing the relationships within and around the activity": involves identification, prioritization, visualization, engagement, and monitoring of stakeholder aspects

  • Mendelow's power-interest grid, which considers stakeholder "power and expectations (and therefore their likely interest) ... to determine the potential influence of stakeholder groups"

  • Murray-Webster and Simon's three-dimensional grid mapping power, interest, and attitude, for better "stimulating thought and informing the project or program manager in a truly meaningful way"

  • Imperial College London's influence-interest grid, "plotting stakeholders on a graph in terms of their influence over the project and their interest in the project"

  • The former Office of Government Commerce's power-impact grid, mapping "the level of impact of the change on [stakeholder] and the importance these stakeholders [have] to the success of the change project"