Effectively Implementing a Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
Stakeholder engagement is contextual, making it a difficult process to complete by simply checking boxes. Who to engage, what level of information to provide in the process, how much feedback to seek, and the goals of the engagement need to be explicit.
A well planned engagement process can lead to greater uptake of data, long-term partnerships, new opportunities for learning and growth, increased trust from stakeholders, and more. Determining success for stakeholder engagement will depend on the individual goals of the agencies involved.
Stakeholder engagement is an iterative and complex process, where the end of one project may be the beginning of another. Long-term successful stakeholder engagement can lead to an overall increase in programmatic success – but agencies must understand the potential benefits and commit the necessary resources to meaningfully incorporate the various perspectives of those with vested interest in their policies, programs, and mission.
Consider the Benefits of Stakeholder Engagement
Find support among colleagues and leadership based on the benefits of stakeholder engagement in your context. Understanding the relevant benefits of stakeholder engagement can help persuade others in your agency to support your project.
Know Your Regulatory Requirements
If focusing on the benefits of stakeholder engagement is not enough to get support, there are also the regulatory and statutory requirements for stakeholder engagement.
Set Your Goal
Have a firm understanding of the goal of the engagement process before you begin. Centering the project’s goal will inform all other subsequent steps of engagement.
Begin your Project
Once you understand the goal, consider what level of engagement you are willing and able to give to your stakeholders. Based on those two decisions and considering applicable regulatory requirements, you can then determine whether your stakeholders need to be generalists, specialists, internal, or external – or more likely a combination of those qualities –. Once you’ve made your stakeholder selection, it is crucial to listen, be receptive, and identify strategies to incorporate feedback based on the goals of the engagement process.
Assess the Appropriate Engagement Level
Once a goal is determined, you can consider the appropriate level of engagement. This decision should factor in statutory requirements, leadership support, and available resources (workforce, funding, and time) as well as the desired outcomes.
Identify Your Stakeholders
Depending on your goal and the level of engagement you choose, you can develop an understanding of which stakeholders you will need. Begin your engagement work by conducting stakeholder mapping; bringing in a diverse set of agency staff to participate in the mapping process will help you develop a more complete understanding of who may be important to engage.
For example, be cautious of limiting the invited stakeholders to the same group every time if your goal is to bring in new insights and perspectives.
Acknowledge and Plan for Possible Barriers
Anticipating barriers and identifying ways to address them in advance is key to a successful engagement process. Possible barriers vary depending on context – barriers should be identified early and planned for, while recognizing that others may arise.
Learn from Your Peers
While this work can be difficult, agencies do not need to start from scratch. There are pockets of efficient and effective engagement work already underway across the federal government. Learning from existing work is helpful when identifying a place to begin as well as a way to avoid duplication of efforts.
Examples of stakeholder engagement activities:
