How do you identify stakeholders for community engagement?

1 Mapping stakeholders

The first step to identify stakeholders for community engagement is to map out all the potential groups or individuals who have an interest, influence, or impact on your community issue or project. You can use different methods to map stakeholders, such as brainstorming, surveying, interviewing, or researching. The goal is to create a comprehensive list of stakeholders that covers different perspectives, backgrounds, and roles. You can also categorize them by type, such as primary (directly affected), secondary (indirectly affected), or key (decision-makers or influencers).

2 Analyzing stakeholders

The next step to identify stakeholders for community engagement is to analyze their level of interest and power in your community issue or project. Interest refers to how much they care or benefit from the outcome, and power refers to how much they can influence or affect the outcome. You can use different tools to analyze stakeholders, such as stakeholder matrices, Venn diagrams, or SWOT analysis. The goal is to understand the needs, expectations, and motivations of each stakeholder group or individual, and how they relate to each other.

3 Prioritizing stakeholders

The third step to identify stakeholders for community engagement is to prioritize them according to their importance and urgency for your community issue or project. Importance refers to how much they matter for the success or failure of the outcome, and urgency refers to how soon they need to be engaged or consulted. You can use different criteria to prioritize stakeholders, such as their level of interest and power, their potential contribution or risk, their availability or accessibility, or their alignment or conflict with your goals. The goal is to create a ranking or grouping of stakeholders that helps you allocate your resources and time effectively.

4 Communicating with stakeholders

The final step to identify stakeholders for community engagement is to communicate with them in a clear, respectful, and inclusive way. Communication refers to the process of sharing information, listening to feedback, building trust, and managing expectations. You can use different channels and methods to communicate with stakeholders, such as emails, newsletters, social media, meetings, workshops, or events. The goal is to create a dialogue and a relationship with each stakeholder group or individual that fosters collaboration and participation.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?