Working With Stakeholders

1. Working With Stakeholders

2. Continuous Effort • Stakeholder engagement is the process by which an organization involves people who may be affected by the decisions it makes or can influence the implementation of its decisions. • Throughout your effort: • Focus on keeping stakeholder members engaged. • Continued recruitment of new members is needed.

3. Steps You Can Take • After stakeholders have agreed to participate in the program, continue to educate them about what the program can do for them and how they can remain involved as an active member. • Encourage stakeholders to embrace your mission, make it their own and push the boundaries of what will make your program successful through outside-the-box thinking. • Welcome idea generation and encourage discussion of ideas among members. • Your Community Action Team members could get involved by: • Distributing program materials (e.g., brochures, posters, etc.). • Listing program information on community bulletin boards, organization websites, newsletters, social media channels and other sources. • Providing information about their organization’s events and/or resources to the Steering Committee for inclusion on project website. • Adding resources directly to project website. • Participating in Cities for Life-sponsored events or events at which Cities for Life had a presence.

4. Steps You Can Take • Communicate with members regularly through several mediums, including: • E-mails • Phone calls • In-person meetings • Events • Social media • Encourage member participation through recognition and incentives. • Regularly ask members for their feedback on their experience and suggestions about improving the program. • Conduct surveys and event evaluations.

5. Focus on the Community Action Team • How Cities for Life worked with the Community Action Team: • Educated Community Action Team members about the program, specifically what the program could do for them and how they could get involved. • Communicated with members regularly: • Monthly e-newsletter, which features a spotlight on a Community Action Team member and included links to Community Action Team members’ programs and services • E-mails • Phone calls • In-person meetings • Events • Encouraged Community Action Team participation through recognition and incentives. • Community Action Team members who had significantly contributed to the Cities for Life program were featured in the monthly e-newsletter. • Community Action Team members who posted information about mydiabetesconnect.com on their organizations’ websites were thanked in a local advertisement. • Regularly asked Community Action Team members for their feedback on their experience and suggestions about improving the program. • Conducted surveys and event evaluations.