CHAPTER 4, Section 1 of 2 Managing Stakeholders

Managing stakeholders What are stakeholders? ‘Stakeholders are groups or individuals who are affected, directly or indirectly by your research’ Direct stakeholders have a personal relationship with the researcher and/or the research. Indirect stakeholders have a relationship with the research that is mediated through another stakeholder/ stakeholder group.

Consider... Who are the stakeholders for your academic programme of study?

Direct and indirect stakeholders Direct stakeholders: –Students/audience –Lecturer –Funding agencies Indirect stakeholders: –School or department –University –Parents –Government, etc Student Activity 1

Why consider stakeholders? 1)Moral and ethical obligations 2)You develop a relationship which enables access 3)You generate support for your research 4)You prevent people from obstructing your research 5)You negotiate what you can and cannot do

What difficulties can stakeholders present? They can skew your research to what they want rather than what you want –to focus on something you have no interest in –to avoid politically sensitive issues they don’t want to address They may make unrealistic/unachievable demands –set targets that you have no hope of reaching Stakeholder tensions –different groups make different demands of your research

Sources of stakeholder power Legitimate power Coercive power Expert power Personal power Information power Associative power Reward power

Power versus Interest You need to consider: Powerful stakeholders with high levels of interest Interested stakeholders who may become powerful Role–stake–risk–opportunity Student Activity 2

Role–stake–risk–opportunity Role: –What is their legitimate position? Stake: –What do they want to get out of your research? Risk: –In what ways do their demands present a threat? Opportunity: –How can you take advantage of their involvement? Student Activity 3

Devising a stakeholder engagement plan For each stakeholder consider: –What do they want from me? –What do I want from them? –Are there any anticipated problems? –How will I engage them? –When will I engage them? –How do I maintain the relationship? Student Activity 4

Top tips for engaging stakeholders ‘Sell’ the value of your research Find a high-level supporter Consult people beforehand Let people know who else is involved Get the correct permissions Keep communicating with people

Listen to people’s concerns Think about the impact your work has on others Never be confrontational Never side with one party over another Tell people if their actions will compromise the trustworthiness of your work Show people outline questions beforehand