climate generation day 3 practical stakeholder and community engagement
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction to Stakeholder and Community Engagement
Session Aim• To help you identify and engage the key stakeholders
for your project Learning Outcomes • Able to use a number of tools to identify and analyse
stakeholders• List three critical success factors for effective
stakeholder engagement• Write a communications plan
Introduction to stakeholder and community engagement
Agenda• What is a stakeholder?• Benefits of stakeholder engagement• Engagement concepts and tools• Identifying and analysing key stakeholders in a given
scenario(s)• Developing a project communications strategy
meaningful connections
dialogue
complexity
understanding assumptions
power
interestscommunication
relationships
diversity
accountability
participation
Introduction to stakeholder and community engagement
What is a stakeholder? ‘a person or institution having a stake in the outcome of a situation or
decision’ Stakeholder: an individual, community or organisation that affects, or is
affected by, the operations of a company. (see Freeman, 1984)
What is stakeholder engagement ? A process which is about building relationships to increase the likelihood
of cooperation and social learning leading to better and more equitable and sustainable decision making
Why engage?
The issues we face are complex…• There is increasing interdependency in our
communities & world• There is a diversity of issues• There are a variety of interests
….and require dialogue for optimal resolution
Benefits of stakeholder engagement
Gives people some say over how projects or policies may affect their lives (empower the disadvantaged)
Including people gives them a “stake” in the process, generates a sense of ownership
Involving stakeholders helps to identify challenges and opportunities early on
Better decision making, reduces potential for conflict, essential for sustainability
Learning opportunities for all, social learning , knowledge sharing, skills enhancement
Funding bodies increasingly require partnership working
If I don’t know why you want something, I can’t come up with creative solutions that address your needs and interests.
Once you understand the needs and know the interests, there will be new possibilities and you will be better prepared to engage in the stakeholder process.
Important message about PIN
Exercise: Flooding in Senegal
• Watch the Video Clip• Work in small groups• Use the matrix to identify the stakeholders
– Who are the stakeholders?– Who is most affected by the flooding? – Who has influence?– Who are the absent stakeholders?
Your Scenario
How was it for you?
What did you learn?
Do you have experiences to share with these kinds of processes?
Developing a communications strategy for the scenario/your project
Step 1. Read the case study. Who are the key stakeholders?
Step 2. Map the stakeholders: Be specific, put the names of the organisations and individuals– Are there any unexpected stakeholders?
Developing a communications strategy for the case study
Step 3. Developing a communications strategy– Develop a plan for communicating with the key stakeholders in the
case study– What methods and how often do you recommend (email, newsletter,
website, blog, meeting, presentation)?
The Communications Strategy
How was it for you?
What did you learn?
Do you have experiences to share with these kinds of processes?
Developing a communications strategy for your project
Step 4. Developing a communications strategy– How do you want to communicate with your key stakeholders– What method (email, newsletter, website, blog, meeting,
presentation)?– How often will you communicate with them?
Benefits and Constraints
• Social learning• Buy-in to decisions• Empower participants• Sustainable outcomes• Cheaper in the long term• . . . .
• Time consuming• More planning and
preparation required• No guaranteed outcomes• There are costs attached• . . . .
Key dimensions of effective engagement
How does it happen• bringing together everyone affected by a decision• sharing responsibility for the planning and the process with
stakeholders• managing processes and facilitating discussions professionally
and independently• ensuring equality of input into the decision-making process by
all stakeholders• ensuring that information is recorded and communicated
clearly and transparently to all stakeholders.
Hoped for outcomes
• practical long-term solutions for people and the environment• increased stakeholder buy-in to the process and the outcome• new understanding and improved relationships, reducing the
potential for future conflict• new learning and new partnerships, involving government,
business and local communities• greater awareness of the value of involving people and
communities in the decisions that affect their lives.