On Identifying Your Stakeholders
| Your first priority in a Stakeholder Analysis as part of the Communication Plan is to identify and list the stakeholders in your project - who stands to be impacted by the operations and deliverables of your project? As illustrated below, stakeholders can take any shape or form, for example, they can be individuals, groups of individuals, companies and government. |
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Depending on the size and the context in which the project exists (IT&T, construction, humanitarian) it can be difficult ensure you have capture all stakeholders. So you need to be proactive in your analysis. The checklist in the Stakeholder Register Template is a good place to start but you will need to refine it and learn more about your stakeholders. To do this you can use a number of investigation methods:
| Method | Description |
| Engaging Experts | There are always key people who are in a good position to identify potential stakeholders. Consider approaching researchers, academics, advisers, local councilors and their staff. |
| Self-Selection | Invite potential stakeholders to join in the dialogue through the local media (newspapers, radio, TV). This mechanism is a good tool to demonstrate how you have provided potential stakeholders an opportunity to identify themselves. |
| Engaging Other Stakeholders | Similar to “engaging experts” you will find that the stakeholders themselves may have a unique perspective on who else should be considered as a stakeholders. It’s important to realise that this opinion comes with baggage and may only introduce ”supporters” to the stakeholders stance as opposed to stakeholders with a different opinion/perspective. |
| Written Reports / Data | You can find stakeholders by researching written reports and hard data such as surveys like a population and housing census or directories / organisation charts or even report developed by business or community advocacy groups. |
| Oral History | The oral traditions of modern and traditional societies contain a wealth of information that may help you identify other key stakeholders. Take the time to listen and ask question to elaborate on the key players in a major event. |
The Stakeholder Register
As you identify your stakeholders, meet with them and learn more about them, you will need to consolidate your notes in preparation for performing the stakeholder analysis. I’ve used the Stakeholder Register Template and works well although you can put it in landscape if it suits you.
In the next post in this Communications Plan series we will look at Understanding your Stakeholders.
Related Articles
- On the Communications Plan (Series)
- On the Project Initiation Document (PID)
Filed under: PMO, PRINCE2, Templates | Tagged: Communication Plan, PRINCE2, Programme Management, Project Initiation, Project Management, Projects, Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Templates
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