The Stakeholder Engagement Manual Volume 2 - AccountAbility

Engage with your stakeholders in ways that work
STAGE 4
PURPOSE
The aim of this Stage is to design and implement engagement processes
which meet stakeholder expectations and organisational objectives.
When it comes to actually engaging with your stakeholders, there are a wide
range of options; from basic meetings and phone calls to more innovative
processes such as advisory panels or multi-stakeholder forums. Various examples
are cited in Volume 1 to this manual, the Guide to Practitioners’ Perspectives.
Th ere is also a large amount of guidance on how to carry out diff erent kinds of
engagement processes, some coming from the fi eld of corporate stakeholder
engagement, but also more broadly from the fi eld of public participation. The
most common approaches are outlined briefl y in this chapter.
Th e question is often not just one of choosing a fair and eff ective technique for
dialogue but can extend to designing governance structures and decision making
processes as engagement deepens into active partnerships. Th e key is to choose
the right technique or governance structure for the job: this depends on your
objectives and your stakeholders’ needs.
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