360° Stakeholder Mapping
A Comprehensive Approach to Ecosystem Engagement
OnTrackNorthAmerica has pioneered an innovative approach to stakeholder identification and cataloging that supercharges facilitation, collaboration, and results for any challenge or opportunity. We have successfully used this methodology for over thirty years, advising on infrastructure projects across 47 U.S. states and Canadian provinces. 360° Stakeholder Mapping serves as the cornerstone of all CAPSI Industry Action Plans and IntelliConferences®.
The Challenge
Stakeholder engagement often faces an initial challenge: a key question, "Who are all the stakeholders?" The answer can seem insurmountable until you systematically create a detailed list or catalog of stakeholder groups within an industrial system or geographic area. Without this framework, identifying all relevant parties is difficult.
The Solution: 360° Stakeholder Mapping
360° Stakeholder Mapping offers a systematic approach to ensuring the effective participation of all stakeholders across diverse sectors. Once you establish a clear framework of stakeholder groups, you can focus on the relevant entities and individuals within each group, within the context of specific projects and goals. All stakeholders can then be identified and included—it's no longer overwhelming.
We have found a particular CRM software platform, Act!, to be well-suited for cataloging and accessing stakeholders by these groups and subgroups. Along with IntelliSynthesis®, this essential tool enables the level of collaboration and coordination needed to address significant challenges.
Primary Sectors and Initial Mapping
We typically begin mapping participants from these primary sectors: Academia, Advocacy, Business, Community, Funders, Government, Labor, and Media.
Deciding who to include from each sector for a new initiative starts with current knowledge and online research. However, the key is to have conversations with informed individuals in the industrial sector or region to determine who needs to be involved. This collaborative approach to mapping actively engages community and industry members as contributors to the stakeholder mapping process.
Three Key Questions to Guide Your Thinking:
- Who are the stakeholders you want to involve in changing the outcomes of that system?
- Who are all the groups that make up the stakeholders in that arena and community?
- What subgroup designations facilitate conversations with the right stakeholders for specific topics?
Implementation Techniques
Create Strategic Groups and Subgroups: Develop your groups and subgroups while considering the project's objectives and the key topics that need to be discussed. Consider the ecosystem's geographic scope and the various roles stakeholders play.
Multi-Dimensional Classification: Assign each stakeholder to multiple groups based on sector, role, and geography. This multidimensional approach enables flexible engagement strategies tailored to diverse needs and contexts.
Geographic Organization: Sometimes you need to communicate with everyone in a specific county, region, state, or country, or organize stakeholders into geographic teams. At other times, you may want to convene discussions with all individuals who provide specific services, such as transportation, or work in particular industries, like mining.
Hierarchical Subgrouping: You might find it helpful to create subgroups within larger categories. For example, set up subgroups for federal, state, and local governments within a "Public sector" umbrella group. This hierarchy enables more precise and relevant communication.
Cross-Sector Engagement: Assigning people to multiple group designations allows you to easily bring together cross-sector stakeholder discussions on specific topics. This flexibility is essential for tackling complex, multi-faceted challenges that cross traditional boundaries.
The Impact of Specificity
This level of specificity demonstrates respect for stakeholders' time and effort, fosters trust and encourages participation, and promotes long-term engagement. When stakeholders see that their involvement is focused and relevant to their skills and interests, they are more likely to participate actively and maintain their engagement over time.
The Fundamental Principle
Industrial systems are for people, managed by people, and have an impact on people. The key to large-scale collaboration and progress is engaging all relevant stakeholders within the ecosystem. Sharing and receiving input, perspectives, and commitments become highly effective when you build an initiative's participant database using 360° Stakeholder Mapping.
This practical approach to stakeholder facilitation allows the right people to collaborate in redesigning our industrial systems, developing solutions that genuinely serve the communities and industries they affect.
