Stakeholder analysis

1. Stakeholder analysis Dr. Naser Mohammadie Email: nmohammadie@sbmu.ac.ir

2. What Is Stakeholder Analysis? Stakeholder analysis is 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 or program.

3. What is stakeholder analysis? Stakeholder analysis is : the identification of a project's key stakeholders, an assessment of their interests, and the ways in which these interests affect project riskiness and viability.

4. What is stakeholder analysis? It is linked to both institutional appraisal and social analysis: drawing on the information deriving from these approaches, contributing to the combining of such data in a single framework. Stakeholder analysis contributes to project design through the logical framework, helping to identify appropriate forms of stakeholder participation. 

5. Who Is a Stakeholder? Stakeholders in a process are actors (persons or organizations) with a vested interest in the policybeing promoted. These stakeholders, or “interested parties,” can usually be grouped into the following categories: international/donors, national political (legislators, governors), Public (ministry of health [MOH], social security agency, ministry of finance), labor (unions, medical associations), commercial/private for-profit, nonprofit (nongovernmental organizations [NGOs], foundations), civil society, and users/consumers.

6. Definitions Stakeholders are : persons, groups or institutions with interests in a project or programs. Primary stakeholders are those ultimately affected, either positively (beneficiaries) or negatively (for example, those involuntarily resettled). Secondary stakeholders are the intermediaries in the aid delivery process. This definition of stakeholders includes both winners and losers, and those involved or excluded from decision-making processes. Key stakeholders are those who can significantly influence, or are important to the success of the project

7. Which Stakeholder Characteristics Are Analyzed? The analysis includes such stakeholder characteristics as : knowledge of the policy, interests related to the policy, position for or against the policy, potential alliances with other stakeholders, ability to affect the policy process (through power and/or leadership).

8. Why Is this Analysis Useful? Policymakers and managers can use a stakeholder analysis to identity the key actors assess their knowledge, interests, positions, alliances, and importance related to the policy. This allows policymakers and managers to interact more effectively with key stakeholders increase support for a given policy or program. When this analysis is conducted before a policy or program is implemented, policymakers and managers can detect and act to prevent potential misunderstandings about and/or opposition to the policy or program. When a stakeholder analysis and other key tools are used to guide the implementation, the policy or program is more likely to succeed.

9. Why do a stakeholder analysis? Stakeholder analysis helps administrators and advisors to assess a project environment, and to inform ODA's negotiating position in project talks. More specifically, doing a stakeholder analysis can: draw out the interests of stakeholders in relation to the problems which the project is seeking to address (at the identification stage) or the purpose of the project (once it has started). identify conflicts of interests between stakeholders, which will influence ODA's assessment of a project's riskiness before funds are committed (which is particularly important for proposed process projects). help to identify relations between stakeholders which can be built upon, and may enable "coalitions" of project sponsorship, ownership and cooperation. help to assess the appropriate type of participation by different stakeholders, at successive stages of the project cycle.

10. When should it be done? Stakeholder analysis should always be done at the beginning of a project, even if it is a quick list of stakeholders and their interests. (Most people do this already, if only informally). Such a list can be used to draw out the main assumptions which are needed if a project is going to be viable, and some of the key risks. Thus, stakeholder analysis will contribute to the drafting of a log frame. Whenever log frames are re-considered during the life of a project, a stakeholder analysis will be useful. This means that annual monitoring missions and mid-term reviews should include stakeholder analysis as part of their tool-kit.

11. Who should do the analysis? The tools and exercises outlined below can be used in a participatory fashion, similar to the Project Cycle Management (PCM) approach to log frames. Drawing up lists and diagrams in such a manner can share and clarify information quickly. Certainly, a team approach is likely to be more effective than an individual doing the analysis alone.  However, stakeholder analysis often involves sensitive and undiplomatic information. Many interests are covert, and agendas are partially hidden. In many situations there will be few benefits in trying to uncover such agendas in public.

12. The following section describes a basic methodology. The type and scale of the project, and the complexity of the issues, should dictate how much time at any stage of the project cycle should be devoted to the task. How much time should be spent?

13. What Are the Steps in Stakeholder Analysis?

14. There are eight major steps in the process: 1. Planning the process 2. Selecting and defining a policy 3. Identifying key stakeholders 4. Adapting the tools 5. Collecting and recording the information 6. Filling in the stakeholder table 7. Analyzing the stakeholder table 8. Using the information

15. What Can Be Achieved with Stakeholder Analysis? Stakeholder analysis yields useful and accurate information about those persons and organizations that have an interest in health system . This information can be used to provide input for other analyses; to develop action plans to increase support for a policy; to guide a participatory, consensus-building process. To increase support or build consensus for a policy, policymakers and managers must take additional steps following the stakeholder analysis. In the next phases of the policy process ,policymakers and managers should use the information generated by the stakeholder analysis to develop and implement strategic communication, advocacy, and negotiation plans. The other sections of this toolkit can be used to guide the development and implementation of such plans ,for example Advocacy , and Conflict Negotiation .