How to Complete a Stakeholder Map

A conservation project, as with any project, requires a structured document that sets out who is involved and their role in making the project a success. A governance overview of all individuals, groups, organisations enables an objective judgement of whether the project has been well thought out, consulted upon and has the potential to succeed. Without a Stakeholder Map, a project hasn’t identified and is not able to communicate or agree with the most important people invested in the project outputs. This document is important to have prepared ahead of any funding submission.

What Should a Stakeholder Map Include?

A strong plan covers six areas. Miss one, and it usually shows up as a question in your project plan.

• Stakeholder name – who is the contact that will be involved in the project
• Role – their expertise or named role, include company name
• Responsible – they are responsible to complete something
• Accountable – they are accountable to approve something
• Consulted – they are part of consultation exercises to expected to provide active feedback
• Informed – they receive passive communication from the project and can provide feedback if they desire

Step 1: Identify and Map Your Stakeholders

A stakeholder is someone (or a group) who has a vested interest in the project, what it plans to do, and the impact it could have. They may be involved directly with the delivery of project work. They may be experts who are asked for specialist advice, or key decision makers that ensure the project has the positive momentum to achieve its aims. The identification is listed in the Stakeholder Map as Stakeholder Name, and Role.

List everyone with a stake in the project before you write anything else – it shapes the rest of the plan. Typical groups include:

• Landowners and site managers
• Volunteers and delivery partners
• The local community
• Subject matter experts (SME)
• Project team members
• Statutory bodies (e.g. Natural England, the local authority)
• Funders and grant panels

Step 2: Build an Understanding of their RACI role

The RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) role for each named stakeholder is an activity for the Project Lead, and perhaps the Sponsor. The process is to consider each named individual and reflect on their level of involvement. Questions to ask of each stakeholder and how they may have their RACI decided, examples as below (not exhaustive)

Step 3: Reflect on Project Activities and their RACI role

A named stakeholder can have one or many RACI role. Imagine the example of an Ecologist. They are predominantly a specialist to be Consulted. It is likely they will be assigned work to complete, like an ecological assessment which they would be Responsible for delivering. They may also want to be kept informed about the general project progress and would therefore be Informed.

Even though Stakeholder Mapping takes place at the beginning of the project management lifecycle, you may have noticed that the example included project plan work. Therefore, an iterative review of the Stakeholder Map at regular intervals (before each status progress review) is good practice in order to update the RACI.

Step 4: Consider any Risks related to the Stakeholders identified, and the RACI roles

Name your risks rather than hoping they won’t happen – an up-to-date risk register (or RAID) is a sign of competence, not weakness. For each Stakeholder, consider if there are any risks related to them or the work they are expected to complete. Record the risk, note the likelihood, the impact, and what you’d do to reduce or respond to it. For example, Risk: “There is a risk that the Ecologist may be unavailable during planting season due to competing priorities, the impact may be less supervision than planned affecting decision making.” Mitigation: “Gather best practice prior and agree a delegate by month two.”

Step 5: Completing the Stakeholder Plot from the Stakeholder Map

This activity is undertaken by the Project Team to assess where stakeholders sit in the quadrants of influence versus interest. Generally speaking:

• High interest and high influence stakeholders need attention and regular updates to keep them onside with the project goals. They are great advocates for your project if they speak to other stakeholders. They can motivate others to higher interest levels.
• Low or medium interest and high influence stakeholders need more attention and information to persuade them to be interested and advocate; if they are unhappy, they may cause disruption to the project delivery. Spend the most time working with these stakeholders.
• High interest and low influence are motivated to project success and it’s worthwhile to keep them involved and updated even though they may not be influential.
• Low interest and low influence are still valuable stakeholders to keep involved and updated with progress.

Common Mistakes That Make Stakeholder Maps Less Effective

• Broad assumptions for Consulted
• Confusion between Responsible (doing) and Accountable (approving)
• Not regularly reviewing and updating the RACI and those identified
• Not assessing effectively and regularly the risk of absence or importance of key stakeholders to the success of the project

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a Stakeholder Map plan be?

Most are 1-2 pages. Key point is identification and listing of stakeholders so that they can be reflected upon and engaged appropriately for project success.

Do I need a project plan before the Stakeholder Map?

Not necessarily. They can evolve in parallel. Often projects start of with a list of things to do and people that are need and goals. The development of the Business Case, Stakeholder Map, and Project Plan organise these ‘random’ elements into a potentially successful project.

Can a small community group write their own Stakeholder Map without a consultant?

Yes – with the right template and framework, this doesn’t require project management experience or an expensive consultant. That’s exactly the gap Ecomaris’ tools and templates are built to close.

How long does it take to write a Stakeholder Map plan?

For a small community project, expect a week of part-time work using a template. Without one, it commonly takes much longer simply from not knowing what to include.