18 Using stakeholder mapping

For resource-constrained organisations, full audience segmentation research may be an unaffordable luxury. However, the lighter touch processes of stakeholder analysis and stakeholder mapping may be useful instead.

Stakeholder analysis is a process used to identify the individuals or groups who have an interest in or are impacted by something — a campaign, project, organisation, initiative, etc. This may simply mean brainstorming who your stakeholders are. The definition of a ‘stakeholder’ is very wide — it is anyone who might be impacted by your campaign (or the underlying issue), or who might impact the outcomes of your campaign. From your initial list of stakeholders, you will probably want to identify your key stakeholders. These should definitely include any audiences you want to reach. They could also include other stakeholders who have particularly high interest and/or influence.

It can help to represent all this visually.

To do this, you can do some stakeholder mapping, for example plotting them on a matrix, often using axes like ‘influence’ and ‘interest’. This helps prioritise engagement strategies, ensuring that key stakeholders are effectively managed throughout the campaign’s lifecycle.

Usually stakeholder mapping involves quite broad categories (e.g. ‘customers’, ‘suppliers’, ‘voters’, ‘decision-makers’) but sometimes it might be more granular and specific (e.g. named organisations, communities, individuals).

Stakeholder engagement refers to the process of actually talking to stakeholders, to better understand their views, and sometimes to include them in decision-making processes. Connected concepts include co-production / co-creation, as well as participatory design and participatory decision-making

Optionally, there are stakeholder mapping and stakeholder engagement standards which you can use. Standards like the AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (AA1000SES) provide a more detailed and structured approach to stakeholder analysis, mapping and engagement, and can help with inclusivity and transparency. By following recognised standards, organisations may be able to challenge their own assumptions about whose voices matter, ensure that their engagement practices are consistent and credible, and minimise biases and gaps.

There are some pitfalls to be aware of.

There is a risk of unfairly excluding certain stakeholders, including marginalised or less powerful groups, or stakeholders who are indirectly impacted (we live in a complicated and interconnected world, after all). Another issue is engaging stakeholders merely to collect data (as a bit of free or cheap market research, perhaps), or to fulfil regulatory requirements, without genuinely empowering them. This can lead to tokenistic engagement, where stakeholders feel their participation is superficial and their concerns are not taken seriously. We might speak to young people, for instance, to hear their views about climate change, but not adequately represent them in the development of our systems and plans. There are also questions about who can legitimately speak for a particular community, group, or audience segment. Over-reliance on formalised mapping techniques might overlook the dynamic and evolving nature of stakeholder interests and relationships.

Money also complicates matters, as always: if budget is available, should stakeholders be compensated for their time? If so, what is a fair amount? There are pros and cons to paying participants in stakeholder engagement processes. On the pro side, it can help to include those who would otherwise be unable to participate. But on the con side, it can sometimes lead to stakeholders misrepresenting who they are, or what they really believe (perhaps telling you what they think you want to hear).

Finally, the way stakeholder analysis, mapping and engagement has often been practised, it can exclude the potential stakeholders. Sometimes we go out and actively create new stakeholders — for example, by recruiting people to a cause, or finding a collaborator or partner we can work with. This may be especially important for resource-constrained organisations.

So to the traditional stakeholder analysis and mapping, we suggest adding another phase: stakeholder ambition scoping. Think about who you would like to be stakeholders, even if they are not currently stakeholders. Think about all those groups, organisations or individuals that are not stakeholders, but could potentially become stakeholders. You can also think about how minor or peripheral stakeholders could become more central, important stakeholders.