Identifying and managing the stakeholders of your partnership

Here is a tool to help you identify and manage the stakeholders of your partnership:
 

Stage 1

Now that you have identified your major partners you need to think more widely and consider all those people and organisations affected by your partnership.

What people/organisations do you need as a resource?

What people/organisations are affected by your partnership?

What people/organisations are on the sidelines but have an interest?

What people/organisations feel they have a right to be involved?

Stage 2

Now think more deeply about your stakeholders. Divide your stakeholders into three areas, those in the Public, Private and Voluntary Sectors. Then consider each stakeholder against the following questions:

Who wants to see the partnership succeed?

Who wants the partnership to fail?

Who is offering the partnership support?

Whose support is necessary for the partnership to succeed?

Who is offering the partnership resources?

Whose success does the partnership affect?                                           

Whose success affects the partnership?

Who benefits from the partnership’s work?  

Who might be damaged by the work of the partnership?

 

 

Stage 3: The power catgories - now that you have identified your stakeholders and considered them against the above questions, place them within what you consider to be the most appropriate categories below:

 

Low interest and low power – you need only put minimal effort into keeping these stakeholders on board, but do not forget them entirely.

 

High interest and low power – you need to actively keep these people informed, as their interest will probably prove useful to the partnership at some point.

 

Low interest and high power – it is important to keep these people satisfied. Even though they have low interest this could change if they are ignored, irritated or angered. 

 

High interest and high power – these people are key to your partnership. If they are not already, they may need to be partners in the initiative. It is important to keep these people informed, satisfied, and appropriately involved.

 

When you have completed the above process go back to your initial list of major partners and review it. Are there any stakeholders that on reflection should be invited to join the partnership?

 

 

For more about collaboration go to: Sleeping-with-the-Enemy-Achieving-Collaborative-Success-2nd-Edition