Stakeholder Engagementin the context of

Conflict Analysis and Intervention

Sharon McCarthy

Stakeholder• A person, group or organization that has interest in or

concern about a proposed action.• Anyone who may impact or be impacted by an organization’s

actions, objectives or policies.

*An action can include a policy, project, plan, program or procedure.

Stakeholder (cont’d)

• Primary stakeholder – someone directly or immediately affected, positively or negatively, by an action.

• Secondary stakeholder – someone indirectly or gradually affected, positively or negatively, by an action.

• Key stakeholders – have significant influence upon or importance within an organization. (They can belong to the first two groups.)

Engagement

• Understanding stakeholders’ views, taking them into consideration, being accountable to them, and using the information gleaned in decisions.

Stakeholder Engagement

• A continuum of interaction that reflects the degree of influence stakeholders have in decision making.

• The formal and informal ways of staying connected to the parties who have an actual or potential interest in, or can affect an action.

• The process of building long-term, collaborative, mutually beneficial relationships.

• A form of participatory decision making.

Spectrum of Engagement/Participation

InformTo provide balanced

information to assist with

understanding the problem,

alternatives, opportunities,

and/or solutions.

ConsultTo obtain feedback

on analysis, alternatives and/or

decisions.

InvolveTo work directly

with stakeholders throughout the

process to ensure their concerns are

consistently understood and

considered.

Engage/CollaborateTo partner with stakeholders in

each aspect of the decision including

the development of alternatives, and

the identification of a preferred

solution.

EmpowerTo place final

decision-making with stakeholders.

Spectrum of Stakeholder Engagement

Public Involvement Continuum

History of Stakeholder Engagement• Modern stakeholder thinking arose in the 1930s in the midst of legal debate about

the responsibilities of corporations to their stockholders and other constituencies.• As health, safety, environment and community relations evolved, other

stakeholders groups were included.• The Stanford Research Institute is often credited with first using the modern

definition of stakeholder in the 1960s. • The concept was fused with management thinking in the 1980s with the

publication of Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, R. Edward Freeman (1984).

• In the 1990s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability were receiving more attention from the general public and corporations.

• From 2000 onward there has been a gradual recognition of the distinction between stakeholder management/responsibility and stakeholder responsiveness/building relationships.

A Plan, a Process, or an Approach

• An engagement plan can- refer to the “communications” plans that support

a stakeholder process;- entail a plan, do, check, and act model.• An engagement process can flow from a

stakeholder plan; engagement plans can flow from an engagement process.

• An engagement approach can refer to the engagement plan and process.

Steps in Stakeholder Engagement

• Rationale• Desired Outcomes • Stakeholder Identification• Stakeholder Analysis• Interest/Issues Identification• The Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

Rationale for Stakeholder Engagement

• public expectations• regulatory requirements• history of engaging stakeholders• stakeholder management or stakeholder

responsiveness (relationship building)

Desired Outcomes

• Desired outcomes are the overall aims of an engagement process.

• Outcomes are more specific than “purpose” and are a clear statement of exactly what is sought from a process.

Stakeholder Identification

• Who has an interest in the current situation?• Who has history with the current situation,

e.g., based on locality, type of action, or the roots of a conflict?

• Who can influence the outcome?• Who has not been identified?

Stakeholder Identification (cont’d)

• Brainstorm on an initial list.• Collect names from people who are active in

the community of interest.• Consult with organizations that have been

involved with similar efforts or who work with the population in the area of concern.

• Solicit further ideas from stakeholders who have been identified.

Stakeholder Mapping

• Determine the relationship between stakeholders.

• Determine the strength of each relationship and its basis, e.g., historical, geographic.

• Determine whether there are groups with similar or overlapping interests.

Stakeholder Mapping (cont’d)

• Primary care providers

• Health and human service organizations

• Community volunteers/activists

• Policy makers and agencies

Advocacy groups

People at risk

Residents of a particular geographic

area.

A population defined by

race or ethnicity.

Stakeholder Mapping (cont’d)

Stakeholder Mapping (cont’d)

Power, Legitimacy and Urgency• Latent stakeholders (groups 1,2,& 3) subdivided

into dormant, discretionary or demanding stakeholders.

• Expectant stakeholders (groups 4,5,& 6) subdivided into dominant, dangerous or dependent stakeholders.

• Definitive stakeholders (group 7) have all three characteristics and often take the most attention.

Stakeholder Analysis

A process of systematically gathering and analyzing qualitative information to determine whose interests should be taken into account when- developing and/or implementing a policy,

project, plan, program or procedure- attempting to build relationships absent a

proposed action

Community Profiles

• Community profiles provide a summary of the history, present conditions, and anticipated future of an area/situation.

• Community profiles typically include population demographics, economic and social history, existing amenities and facilities, recent changes and future plans.

• For stakeholder engagement with an international focus population demographics and economic and social history are the most important aspects.

Value-Focused Thinking

Values-focused thinking• defining and structuring fundamental values in

terms of objectives and using the objectives to guide and integrate decision making

• making decisions in relation to objectives that derive from stakeholder values

• contrasts with alternative-focused thinking

Value-focused Thinking (cont’d)

Criteria used to evaluate people, behavior, experiences

and objects

Reflected in attitudes, beliefs, feelings and perceptions and as such form a critical component

of the decisions we make

Can be endemic, found across cultures, or embedded within a

particular culture.

Principles used for evaluation that help with choosing among

various possible goals.

Values

Value-focused Thinking (cont’d)

Thinking about Values

Creating alternatives

Uncovering hidden

objectives

Evaluating alternatives

Improving communication

Facilitating involvement in

multiple-stakeholder

decisions

Guiding information collection

Interconnecting decisions

Guiding strategic thinking

Identifying decision

opportunities

Stakeholder Analysis (cont’d)

High Influence

Low Interest

High InterestHigh Influence

Low Influence

Low Interest

High Interest Low Influence

Influ

ence

Interest

Stakeholder Analysis (cont’d)

Communicate High Level Engage

Monitor Keep InformedInflu

ence

Interest

Stakeholder Analysis (cont’d)

• Delineate a geographic sphere of influence.• Delineate impact zones where different types of

environmental and social impacts may occur.• Note those groups who will be most directly

affected within the impact area.• Include in the analysis groups and organizations

not adversely affected but whose interests define them as stakeholders.

Interest/Issues Identification

• Interest/issues identification often occurs in concert with stakeholder analysis.

• Interests and issues are most readily identified by asking stakeholders:– What is important to you?– Why is this important?

The Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

• Prioritize who needs to be contacted and the method(s) of contact.

• Detail the schedule of activities and the decision making process.

• Identify aspects integral to the strategy:– the need for a Terms of Reference– the inclusion of a Chair, facilitators(s) and/or

mediator– representativeness of stakeholders

Requirements to Engage

• The Ontario Electricity Act (1998), Sec. 13.2 specifies requirements for stakeholder input.

• Guidelines for federal officials to fulfill the duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal interests.

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) 169 on Indigenous and Tribal People outlines consultation requirements.

Enabling Conditions for Stakeholder Engagement

A successful stakeholder engagement process is helped along when the parties• possess a cultural affinity• recognize each other’s legitimacy• dedicate time to building trust• are willing to accept incremental gains

Enabling Conditions (cont’d)

• There exists the motivation of all parties to engage one another in dialogue.

• There is articulated and agreed upon existence of a goal(s) that can only be accomplished through the participation of all parties.

• Representatives of each party must have the internal organizational capacity to act.

International Standards for Reporting on Stakeholder Engagement

In recent years, international reporting standards for business have begun to include requirements for reporting on stakeholder activities and performance.• Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) – sets

standards for corporate governance and stakeholder engagement including corporate codes of conduct and public reporting.

• FTSE4Good Index Series – a series of benchmark indices for socially responsible investors.

International Standards for Reporting on Stakeholder Engagement (cont’d)

• UN Global Compact – commits signatory companies to support and respect the protection of internationally recognized human rights and make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

• Credit 360 – a web based data management system that facilitates data collection and aggregation for reporting and communication purposes.

• REACT – an online record of research, engagement and consultation exercises undertaken by local authorities across a district.

Concluding Comments

• At its best, stakeholder engagement enables cooperation and collaboration.

• The timing for stakeholder engagement depends on the situation and the availability of information.

• Stakeholder engagement is often undertaken to help avoid or resolve conflict, yet, conflict can raise awareness and function as an important check on a situation.

Concluding Comments (cont’d)

• Power imbalances go hand in hand with stakeholder engagement.

• The conclusion of a stakeholder engagement strategy does not always signal the end of a conflict/dispute.

Resources• International Finance Cooperation. Stakeholder Engagement: A

Good Practice Handbook for Companies Doing Business in Emerging Markets.

• The KU Work Group, Community Tool Box, University of Kansas Work Group for Community Health and Development http://ctb.ku.edu/en

• International Association for Public Participation http://www.iap2.org/

• The Global Reporting Initiative, include indicators for labour practices, decent work and human rights www.globalreporting.org

• Dow Jones Sustainability Index www.sustainability-indices.com