Identifying and mapping local stakeholders
Key stakeholders can be identified based on their relative influence in decision making, their responsibility, their involvement in day-to-day operations, their direct or indirect dependency on the project and their representation in the community.
Identifying key stakeholders
Representation from all the stakeholders is a priority in a multi-stakeholder WASH engagement project. Some less obvious stakeholders may be excluded from the usual decision-making processes; this should be avoided.
You have already come across a situation where some stakeholders were excluded from the decision-making process because they were not obvious. Look back to Section 4.1 and see if you can find it.
In Section 4.1 you read about community water supply points that may be accessed by people from adjacent villages who had not been considered during initial planning.
Local institutions such as schools, health centres, mosques and churches are considered important stakeholders. These are important strategic institutionsfor promoting community-based WASH interventions. While at school, children gain knowledge that influences them and informs their attitude and practice. In addition school children, via their teachers and WASH clubs, can educate their families and relatives when they return home. By this route, they can serve as agents of change to their communities. For example, Figure 4.4 shows a school WASH club performing a drama about handwashing for their relatives. (You will learn more about the role of schools in mobilising urban communities in Study Session 11.)
Figure 4.4 School WASH club performing a handwashing drama.
How might establishing WASH clubs in schools help in promoting improved hygiene in the wider community?
School children may learn at WASH clubs about washing their hands thoroughly after using the latrine. This could potentially lead to improved hygiene practices in the wider community if they tell their families what they have learned at school.
It is important to identify all stakeholders from the community including women, children and marginalised people. Marginalised people are those on the edges (margins) of society who are treated as insignificant or not important. There may be people in your community who find it difficult to come to meetings, for example because of their work pattern or because they have a disability. It is particularly important to ensure that such groups have a voice and are listened to. Excluding less obvious stakeholders from the usual decision-making processes is an easy mistake to make and may have serious social or economic costs. It can lead to unsustainable projects and no overall improvement in conditions.
A systematic approach to defining and identifying all relevant stakeholders during early planning stages is therefore essential for ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of urban WASH initiatives.
Stakeholder mapping
Stakeholder mapping is the process of systematically identifying and analysing the relevant stakeholders, their relationship to each other, their level of interest, and their roles and responsibilities in relation to the power they hold.
Mapping the levels of interest of different stakeholders in relation to their interest or power can be done using the diagram shown in Figure 4.5. Their relative power and interest is categorised into four groups: those with high interest but little power (A), high interest and high power (B), low interest but high power (C) and low interest and little power (D).
Figure 4.5 Mapping stakeholders on a power/interest grid. (Adapted from DfID, 2003)
Consider a family with a disabled child living in an area with poor WASH facilities. They stand to benefit from a planned urban WASH initiative in their area. In which group would you place such a stakeholder on the diagram shown in Figure 4.5? In which group would you place a local politician, who lives outside the area served by the planned facility? Explain your answers.
The family would be in group A: they have a high interest in the success of the initiative but have little power. The politician would be in group C: they have a large amount of power but little personal interest in the initiative.
Which group is likely to include the most marginalised individuals and why?
Group A is likely to include the most marginalised individuals because it will comprise those who are sick or have disabilities. They have little power and are unable to participate fully in the community.
Stakeholder mapping can help you fully understand a situation and see the relationships between the stakeholders and their role in the project or programme. This can be useful when developing a plan for stakeholder engagement. Such a plan should outline:
- objectives (what are you trying to achieve?)
- scope (who and what is included?)
- methods (how will you put the plan into action?).
The methods used will vary for different stakeholders and will depend on several factors including how actively they are involved. For example, for users and beneficiaries, mediated discussions with service providers could be appropriate. For other, less engaged stakeholders, printed leaflets or other methods for providing information could be considered. (The methods for stakeholder engagement are considered in more detail in Study Sessions 5 and 6.)