The success of the partnerships depends in part on stakeholder satisfaction, both internal and external. The purpose of this session is to extend the teams' planning perspective to include important aspects of outside organizations and groups that have a stake in the work of the partnership. Taken together, such groups constitute the partnership's external environment. These organizations and groups present both opportunities for, and threats to, what the partnership is trying to accomplish.
Assessing the opportunities and threats depends on an active scanning of the environment. The aim of this unit is that key partnership decision makers periodically and systematically scan their environments, identify and determine the interests of the stakeholders in the partnerships, assess these interests, and apply collective problem-solving efforts to the opportunities and threats posed.
Describe and use a process of identifying and analyzing those organizations and individuals who have a stake ("stakeholders") in the work of their partnership.
Identify and analyze the interests of the stakeholders in the partnership.
Assess the threats and opportunities presented to the partnership by its stakeholders.
Use an organized problem-solving approach to address the opportunities and threats posed by stakeholders.
Transfer and extend the use of their newly acquired skills to their partnerships, communities, and home organizations.
This unit and Unit 4C are both team meetings, each with a different but related focus. Unit 4C brought a variety of ideas from the concurrent workshops on the community aspect of the partnership's external environment. This unit broadens the notion of the world external to the partnership to include not only communities but also local, regional, State, and national organizations and Government agencies.
On Day 2, the teams analyzed their internal environment, i.e., their own partnership's strengths and weaknesses. A strategic approach to planning involves analysis of the external environment of the partnerships as well. Thus, this session is linked logically to the modules of Day 2. Since the external environment includes communities and groups outside of the partnership, this session is also tied to earlier units on community development, cultural consciousness, and community mobilization.
If space in the team room is limited, it may be necessary to arrange small breakout areas where the subgroups can work. The easiest solution in some places will be for the subgroups to work in the main training room. In some places, it may make more sense for the subgroups to use participant lodging rooms or the lobby area. If this is done, trainers must emphasize the importance of staying on schedule and reconvening promptly.
The exercises on stakeholder analysis and problem solving will require 3 extra copies per participant of handouts HO-2 and HO-3. The copies in the Participant Manual should not be used, so that participants have clean copies to take home. Since these are worksheets that are to be scribbled on and perhaps discarded, it is better to have too many than not enough.
The 2 exercises in this unit call for dividing the team into subgroups of 2 or 3 participants each. The subgroups' accomplishments in this unit depend on the ability of 2 or 3 team members to work together on analytic tasks-which also require some ability to turn concepts and ideas into words. These abilities may not be found in equal measure in every team. Therefore, it will help if the facilitator decides in advance of team time how best to divide the team based on some assessment over the previous 4 days of training.
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Fawcett, S. B., A. L. Paine, V.T. Francisco, and M. Vliet. (Submitted for publication). Promoting health through community development.
Fawcett, S. B., T. Seekins, P.L. Whang, C. Muiu, and Y. Suarez de Balcazar. (1984). Creating and using social technologies for community empowerment. In Studies in empowerment, ed. R. Rappaport. New York: Haworth Press, 145-171.
Gibbs, J., and S. Bennett. (1990). Together we can reduce the risks: A conceptual framework for planning comprehensive prevention programs. Seattle, WA: Comprehensive Health Education Foundation.
Manger, T. H., J. D. Hawkins, K. P. Haggerty, and R.F. Catalano. (In press). Mobilizing communities to reduce risks for drug abuse: Lessons on using research to guide prevention practice. Journal of Primary Prevention.
Moore, C. M. (1991). A working paper on community. Paper presented at "Community in Conflict," a conference of the National Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution, 4-6 June, 1991, Charlotte, NC. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, National Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution.
Wolff, T. (Unpublished). Coalition building: One path to empowered communities. Amherst, MA: Statewide Massachusetts Area Health Education Centers, University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
A. The earliest use of the term "stakeholder" goes back 300 years to refer to persons entrusted with "stakes" of bettors.
B. In 19th century America, settlers in the West "staked" a claim, literally driving stakes into the ground to mark out the extent of land claims. They became "stakeholders."
C. In more recent times, the use of the term has expanded to include anyone who makes a claim upon, or has an interest in, the work of an organization.
D. In businesses, the stakeholders are usually the customers, suppliers, and in some cases, investors.
E. The stakeholders of a partnership are a major factor in the planning and operations of the partnership. They may:
Enhance or inhibit partnership performance;
Support or oppose its objectives;
Aid, divert, or block collaborative prevention planning.
A. Definition: "A way to identify stakeholders of a partnership and the interests that the stakeholders may have in the partnership."
B. Stakeholders are seldom individual persons; they are most often organizations or institutions that may be represented by an individual person.
C. Once stakeholders and their interests are identified, the partnership can:
Build strategies to manage stakeholder relations,
Take steps to ensure that stakeholder interests are appropriately attended to;
Determine what "leverage" or influence it has with its stakeholders; and
Develop ways of coping with threats and capitalizing on opportunities.
D. Use of this kind of analysis and assessment is enhanced by the active involvement of key decision makers of the partnership. Such involvement is especially important for assessing the external environment, because the key decision makers have to manage relationships with the external world.
A. Ask the team to brainstorm the names of stakeholders for 10 minutes.
B. Write the stakeholders' names on newsprint. Post.
Trainer Note: It is more important that the team develop a full list rather than trying to reach agreement about whether or not X or Y are really stakeholders or debating the importance of a stakeholder to the partnership.
If the team's interaction pattern tends to be imbalanced by very active members, a round-robin technique should be used to generate the list in order to be sure that input from all team members is obtained.
A. Divide the team into subgroups of 2 or 3. Divide the list of stakeholders among them. If the brainstorming produced a small list, it is all right to assign stakeholders to more than one subgroup. Ask each subgroup to add any stakeholders to the list who come to light as they work.
B. Summarize the task to come:
The point of the exercise is get the team members thinking carefully and deeply about the stakeholders of their partnership, and their relationships with the planning and prevention efforts of the community.
The team, through these subgroups, will work collectively on developing an understanding of the interests of its partnership's stakeholders and how these interests may help or hinder the partnership's work.
The subgroups will spend 30 minutes filling out a Stakeholder-Mapping Worksheet (HO-1) for the stakeholders assigned to them.
Each subgroup will then share what it has discovered about its stakeholders with the entire team.
C. Distribute HO-1. Review each section to ensure that everyone understands the task (HO-1: Stakeholder- Mapping Worksheet).
Use one worksheet for each stakeholder assigned.
In the first column, record the group's consensus as to the interests that each stakeholder has in the partnership. For example, OSAP and the State government are stakeholders for every partnership (i.e., they have an interest in what the partnership does and how it does it). These interests include, for example, making sure that the grant money is spent properly and that the partnership adheres to the plan of activity outlined in its proposal.
In the remaining columns, record the implications of the stakeholders' interests for helping or hindering the partnership. For example, OSAP's interest in ensuring that the partnership does what it said it would do in its proposal implies that the partnership may be helped to stay on its proposed course. That same interest may also imply consequences for straying from the course proposed in the application.
Some stakeholder's interests may be unknown or unclear. Encourage the subgroup to speculate-to put themselves in the shoes of the stakeholder and conjecture about this. Such analysis and thoughtful speculation may lead to some planned steps to be taken later.
The subgroups may find it useful to identify the stakeholder's stakeholders. For example, one of OSAP's stakeholders is the U.S. Congress. Thus, the Congressperson for the partnership's district is a stakeholder of one of the partnership's stakeholders. Similarly, one of the stakeholders of the State prevention office is the governor of the State.
A. When the team has reassembled, ask each subgroup to summarize its findings on each stakeholder for the rest of the team. This will give the group a cumulative picture of the external environment of its partnership as seen by participants.
A. Facilitate a discussion about the significance of the stakeholders' interests and expectations for their partnership. (This discussion should set the stage for the next exercise in problem solving.)
Trainer Note: If a group is having difficulties functioning as a team, the next exercise could be replaced with, or preceded by, a relatively easy consensus activity, such as deciding on the 3 or 4 stakeholders who are most important to the partnership.
Transition
B. Tell participants that the next exercise in problem solving is intended to continue the work they just completed. They will be using an organized problem-solving approach to tackle the "helps" and "hindrances" that they found in their stakeholder analysis.
Participants will work in the same groups of 2 or 3.
Each subgroup is to use the work of its stakeholder analysis as a jumping-off point for devising solutions and strategies to deal with the each of the "helps" and "hindrances" identified.
Using a problem-solving worksheet, the task will be systematically to:
Define a problem or an issue that was brought to light by their analysis;
Consider the causes of the issue;
Identify resources for addressing the problem;
Devise some activities or steps for resolving the problem;
Look at what may be getting in the way- barriers to the problem-solving steps; and
Develop creative ways to use resources to overcome barriers and sharpen strategies.
C. Distribute several problem-solving worksheets to each participant (HO-2: Problem-Solving Worksheet).
D. Clarify each section of the worksheet. Explain that there is not enough room on the worksheet for all their ideas. They may find it helpful to use the worksheet first as an agenda, to discuss each section, to reach some agreement about what should go in each section, and then to jot down a few key words in the bottom section of the worksheet that capture their thinking.
E. Ask participants to rejoin their subgroups and to return to their work area. Remind the subgroups of the time at which the entire team will reconvene.
A. After the subgroups have reconvened in the team room, ask each group to describe briefly what problems it addressed-its causes, resources, and the rest of the categories on the HO-2.
B. Conduct a discussion about how the team might use the same kind of analysis, assessment, and problem solving skills back home.
A. Remind the team to make entries in its diary. Encourage them to factor into their reentry plans a process for involving others in their partnership, home organizations, and communities in the kind of strategic thinking and planning that they have done in this unit.
B. Ask members to summarize what they learned in this unit.
C. Point out the linkages with other units and the themes of the Institute.
Trainer Note: The generic processing questions from the Introduction (TSupp-3) for use in team meetings should also be addressed at this time if the team has not yet done so.
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