Introduction
Engaging Stakeholders for a Meaningful Case for Investment
Identifying the right stakeholders is critical to the success and impact of your Case for Investment. These include funders, local communities, policymakers, and others directly or indirectly affected by your program. By focusing on those most impacted, you can ensure the data and findings address their specific needs and concerns.
Why stakeholder engagement matters
From local communities relying on water resources to regulatory agencies, each group has unique priorities. Engaging with these groups through methods like surveys, interviews, and community meetings helps uncover key concerns and fosters support for your efforts.
Broadening the scope
As you consult stakeholders, you might discover additional impacts—positive or negative—that weren’t initially apparent. Be flexible and iterative in your approach, adapting as new insights and concerns emerge. Unexpected outcomes, such as changes to habitats or overlaps with other initiatives, can reveal opportunities to enhance your program or broaden its scope.
A comprehensive approach
A well-rounded Case for Investment acknowledges all significant outcomes—both expected and unexpected. It ensures that everyone meaningfully impacted is considered, strengthening the case for your program’s value.
Indigenous Peoples and “stakeholder”
The term “stakeholder” may be inadequate or inappropriate when describing the role of Indigenous communities in various initiatives, especially those involving environmental conservation or community development. Indigenous communities hold a unique status that extends beyond the conventional stakeholder definition, due to their sovereign rights, cultural heritage, and deep connection to their ancestral lands.
Their involvement goes beyond that of interested parties or contributors; they engage as autonomous governments in nation-to-nation dialogues. This government-to-government relationship recognizes their self-determination and emphasizes the importance of their consent and active participation in decisions affecting their lands, resources, and ways of life. Framing Indigenous communities merely as stakeholders risks undermining their authoritative voice and overlooks the necessity for respectful partnerships that honour their rights, knowledge, and governance systems.
Tool 1b: The “Who” matrix
Purpose: Identify who should be engaged in the development of the business case for your CBWM program and their degree of involvement, and consider what engagement tools to use.
Used in: Most steps in this guidebook have some aspect of audience engagement. In Steps 3 to 6, the audiences identified as Involving / Collaborating should be included in the analyses.
How to use this tool: Read through the introduction and fill out Table 4, Table 5, and write your engagement statement.
All tool activity documents are attached.