Stakeholders’ Analysis Vanda Altarelli June 2016 Master in Human Development and Food Security

Who are the stakeholders? Stakeholders are the people who matter to a system (project, policy, issues, etc.) What is it? It is a systematic methodology that uses qualitative data to determine the interests and influence of different groups in relation to a specific project/policy reform, issue, etc.

What is its Purpose ? It helps the research team to define whom we try to involve in designing a multi-stakeholder process and in which way, and it allows the team to find out whose information needs must be considered. This method is useful at different moments: It can help you to identify which stakeholders to involve in (re-) designing a project or programme or policy, and to assess their interests and how these relate to the issue (project/programme/policy).

What is its Purpose … You may want to use it during a specific phase or for a specific component to analyse stakeholder relations, including cooperation and conflicts and considering external factors affecting stakeholders and their activities. It can assist you in making an appropriate selection of the stakeholders most central to the task/issue at hand. It can help to provide a foundation and strategy for participation throughout the project/programme/ policy reform, thereby making it easier for stakeholders to learn from each other.

What can it be used for? Stakeholder analysis should be carried out for any type of project/policy reform. Basic stakeholder analysis should precede design and should be consistently deepened as project/policy reform elements proceed and are finalized.

What does it tell us? Stakeholder analysis can be expanded into fuller political economy/power analysis that identifies affected groups and looks at: (i) their position vis-à-vis project/policy/issue; (ii) their influence on institutions at all level; (iii) the likelihood of their participation in coalitions to support change; (iv) strategies for overcoming opposition such as compensating losers or delaying implementation.

How to do it Clarify the main purpose of the SA and agree on the criteria for assessing the stakeholders. Then list which criteria you will use to prioritise whom to involve. The types of criteria for selecting stakeholders could be: "supposed to be benefiting from the project", "critical role in ensuring success", "legally required to participate", "have specific knowledge on processes", etc.

How to do it.. List all the people and organisations that might fit your criteria, e.g. key individuals from the target populations, local leaders and key people from implementing partners (NGOs, community organisations etc.), government staff , local administration, local consultants, local businesses and educational/research institutes. This list needs to be revisited several times as you design your intervention to ensure that all key groups and people are included and updated.

How to do it.. Then classify the stakeholders on the basis of the criteria identified. For this, you will need to make a stakeholder matrix with the stakeholders along one axis and the criteria along the other. Prioritise which stakeholders to involve.

How to do it.. Reach agreement on how best to involve people. This is done by asking the different people/groups themselves how they think they can be best involved. Remember that participation does not mean involving everybody in all decisions at all times. It means thinking carefully about how to ensure that different interests can best be represented in different phases and forums of the process.

Data/Information Required Stakeholder interests are seldom explicitly spelled out in existing sources. Various tools can be used to identify stakeholders, such as brainstorming, interviews with key informants or focus groups. Cross check the list by asking key people to look critically at the initial list of stakeholders you have produced. (ii) secondary material such as social science research, “gray literature”, etc.

Data/Information Required.. Analysis that is meant to predict the positions of key stakeholders in different reform scenarios is not a one-off piece of work and should be iterative and/or grow out of the findings of your analytical work. Ensuring a complete and updated picture may require that specialists carry out the work again after few months.

Tips on use Stakeholder analysis is an essential method to use in order to properly design whom to involve in which steps of the process. Such a selection must be done together with different people in order to lessen the risks of having a biased selection. This is a process that continually evolves and must be repeated throughout the life of a project/programme in order to be sure that (new) potentially important stakeholders are not missed.

Skills Required Sociological or anthropological training is helpful, as is a background in political science, and , preferably, mastery of the language or very skilled translators. Local knowledge, including contacts with local experts, is crucial. Those carrying out the analysis must also thoroughly understand the scope of the project/reform and the recent history in the sector.

Limitations Stakeholder analysis relies on perceptions and preferences. This places greater onus on careful selection of respondents and interpretation of data