Stakeholder management: Analysis and influencing

1. Policy Planning Staff Stakeholder management:Analysis and influencing Cat I. M. Tully Strategy adviser, policy planning staff 31st Oct 2007

2. Stakeholder management is a critical part of the strategic process at several different stages • We need to identify and influence different types of stakeholders to achieve our objectives: • the people whose position we want to change • the countries/actors we want to influence to achieve our desired objectives • the OGDs we want to align to our strategy • Stakeholder management is important at various parts of the strategic process to: • understand who are the stakeholders • prioritise and identify degree of change in our stakeholders’ positions needed to achieve our objectives • identify how to influence our stakeholders usingFCO and OGD levers

3. Contents Who do we want to influence? What degree of change is needed? How do we influence them? Templates

4. Identify the different types of stakeholders An example of a stakeholder map from the climate change team Different stakeholders can be mapped onto different charts depending on the project Project SHs - Whitehall and other Ss you need on-side to deliver an effective project Influencing SHs - the key SHs you want to influence to impact outputs Focus SHs - the key national/thematic SHs who is the focus of your work Useful examples include: importance, position, influence, certainty, power/levers/resources The dimensions can change depending on the issue The starting and desired end-state position should be identified for each key stakeholder Two points need to be compared: Starting point - where are the key SHs now? End point - where do we want them to be?

5. Contents Who do we want to influence? What degree of change is needed? How do we influence them? Templates

6. Stakeholder maps can help identify who to influence and where to focus resource Use your stakeholder map to start getting into further analytical detail Questions to ask: • Who are the priority SHs?1. High importance2. Networked with others • Which risks you want to address:1. How do you isolate high importance (and possibly influential) negative SHs 2. How do you stop low-influence positive SHs slipping?3. Are there any risks associated with not engaging with low-importance negative SHs? • What are your key SHs’ interests and impact and what mode of participation do you want from them? See p7 for template Position X + X X These are most important SHS X X X - We need to engage carefully and regularly with these SHs What are the risks associated with not engaging these SHs? - + Importance

7. Agree Agreement Full agreement with course of action Partnership Active collaboration in reaching outcome Acceptance Passive willingness not to block action may still disagree Alignment Some commonality on objectives/ strategy but disagreements over tactics Accept Active Passive We want to know each key stakeholder’s key interests, impact and mode of engagement with us For each key stakeholder, list their interest and impact on the issue Clarify what kind of engagement you want from the stakeholder

8. Although this is complex, there are ways to process and manage complex stakeholder info succinctly Processes and charts like this are useful for 1) identifying clusters of activity; and subsequently 2) monitoring delivery

9. Contents Who do we want to influence? What degree of change is needed? How do we influence our stakeholders? Templates The templates in this section are from: E3G - Third Generation Environmentalism

10. We need to have a clear idea of the sources and types of leverage on key stakeholders This should prompt thinking about which levers the FCO and OGDs can use

11. We can then start using different tools to help you develop influencing plans • Various tools can help you in developing your influencing plan: • Influencing Assets - what are your sources of influencing power • Influence mapping - how do you influence a key actor? • Policy Funnel - what timeline should you follow to influence a key actor or decision? • Influencing Theory - what is the process and mechanics of influencing? • Objectives and outcomes - what are the outcomes and objectives of influencing? • Dispute Analysis - how do you analyse and address a dispute? • Strategic Frames Analysis - how do you begin to change peoples’ positions? • We will look at the first three in detail

12. Sources of influencing power: different influencing assets Political Access and influence over key decision makers Economic Economic weight under organisation’s control Organisational Ability to directly impact outcomes Intellectual Key ideas/analysis – facts Communications Access to media and public trust Democratic Basis of support and legitimacy Moral/Ethical Ability to take a credible moral or ethical stand

13. Shriti Vadera • Mike Jacobs CX • Electric Utilities • Banks/Analysts Labour Backbenchers Peter Hain –Wales and NI Brian Wilson • No 10 • Geoffrey Norris • Matthew Taylor • Ivan Rogers • DTI • Malcolm Wicks • Alan Johnson • Energy and Environment Committee • John Prescott • Margaret Beckett • Jack Straw • Alistair Darling (Transport and Scotland) PM Energy Review Team Sir Nigel Shienwald Sir David King Scottish Parties Kim Darroch Influence mapping can help you effectively influence a key stakeholder 1. Identify key decision maker/organisation – place in centre of flip chart 2. Brainstorm other key actors – write on Post-Its and place/write on flip chart 3. Join actors using formal (solid) and informal (dotted) influencing lines 4. Identify contextual/environmental actors outside decision-making structures 5. Identify priority influencing chains and gaps in knowledge/ influencing impact

14. The Policy funnel is useful for identifying different stages of influencing an actor or decision GeneralOpinion Public Debate Policy Process Final Decision Concepts/Research Questions/Framing Solutions/ Problems Threats/ Offers Who’s Reputation? What Coalition? Which Champion? What Access? Map of possible modes of potential influencing and timeline Set of possible interventions Prioritisation/allocation of interventions

15. Contents Who do we want to influence? What degree of change is needed? How do we influence them? Templates

16. Template for stakeholder mapping Position Stakeholder Map: XXX type for XXX theme or country X + X X X - - + Importance

17. Template for stakeholder analysis