🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Identify and categorize all relevant stakeholders
Systematically identify primary, secondary, and tertiary stakeholders based on their relationship to your problem, distinguishing between those directly affected, those with influence or expertise, and those with indirect interest.
Conduct power-interest analysis
Map stakeholders on a power-interest grid to determine who needs deep partnership (high power/high interest), who needs focused communication (high power/low interest), who should be actively engaged (low power/high interest), and who requires monitoring (low power/low interest).
Design culturally appropriate engagement strategies
Adapt your engagement approach to different stakeholder types, respecting cultural norms, power dynamics, and communication preferences while creating safe spaces for authentic dialogue and community validation.
Conduct meaningful stakeholder conversations
Use effective questioning techniques to validate your Problem Tree assumptions, discover insights you missed in desk research, and build relationships that support project implementation—all while avoiding confirmation bias and extractive consultation.
Integrate stakeholder insights into project design
Systematically document stakeholder conversations, identify patterns across diverse perspectives, update your Problem Tree based on community validation, and convert assumptions (A) into evidence (E) through authentic engagement.
💡 Skills You Will Gain
Analytical Skills
- → Stakeholder identification and categorization
- → Power and influence assessment
- → Interest level evaluation
- → Pattern recognition across conversations
Relationship Building
- → Community engagement and trust-building
- → Partnership development strategies
- → Conflict-sensitive engagement
- → Long-term stakeholder relationship management
Communication
- → Open-ended question design
- → Active listening and inquiry
- → Cultural sensitivity and adaptation
- → Transparent and ethical engagement
Strategic Planning
- → Engagement strategy design by stakeholder type
- → Resource allocation for engagement activities
- → Timeline and sequencing of conversations
- → Integration of insights into project design
📚 Prerequisites
Prerequisites
This lesson builds directly on your completed work from previous lessons:
Required
- Complete Lesson 1.1 (Problem Tree Analysis) - You need a preliminary Problem Tree with items tagged as (E) evidence or (A) assumptions to validate through stakeholder engagement.
- Have your validation questions ready - From Lesson 1.1, you should have prepared 10 stakeholder validation questions based on your Problem Tree assumptions.
- Understand your project context - Have clarity on your geographic scope, target population, and the social issue you're addressing.
- Allocate sufficient time - Meaningful stakeholder engagement takes 2-3 weeks of conversations plus preparation and synthesis time.
⏱️ Time Commitment
How This Connects to Other Lessons
Stakeholder Mapping is the validation bridge that connects desk research to community reality:
graph TD
%% Module 1 - Building Foundation
L11["📚 LESSON 1.1
Problem Tree Analysis
• Desk research
• Preliminary analysis
• Tagged assumptions (A)"]
L12["🗺️ LESSON 1.2
Stakeholder Mapping
• Validate assumptions
• Build partnerships
• Convert (A) to (E)"]
L13["📊 LESSON 1.3
Synthesize Data
• Integrate insights
• Refine Problem Tree"]
L14["🎯 LESSON 1.4
Theory of Change
• Flip to positive pathway
• Community-validated vision"]
%% Module 2 - Operationalize
MOD2["🚀 MODULE 2: Operationalize
Community-validated foundation
enables credible operations"]
L21["📋 Lesson 2.1
Logical Framework"]
L22["⚙️ Lesson 2.2
Activity Design"]
L23["✍️ Lesson 2.3
Proposal Writing"]
L24["💰 Lesson 2.4
Budget Estimation"]
%% Relationships - Flow from foundation
L11 --> L12
L12 --> L13
L12 --> L14
L13 --> L14
L14 --> MOD2
MOD2 --> L21
MOD2 --> L22
MOD2 --> L23
MOD2 --> L24
%% Festa Design System Colors
%% Lesson 1.1 - Pepper Green (previous lesson)
style L11 fill:#10B981,stroke:#059669,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
%% Lesson 1.2 - Pot of Gold (current focal point)
style L12 fill:#F59E0B,stroke:#D97706,stroke-width:4px,color:#1F2937,font-weight:bold
%% Lessons 1.3 and 1.4 - Pepper Green (next lessons in module)
style L13 fill:#10B981,stroke:#059669,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
style L14 fill:#10B981,stroke:#059669,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
%% Module 2 Container - Leaf
style MOD2 fill:#72B043,stroke:#5A8F36,stroke-width:3px,color:#fff,font-weight:bold
%% Module 2 Lessons - Leaf lighter shade
style L21 fill:#84C556,stroke:#72B043,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
style L22 fill:#84C556,stroke:#72B043,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
style L23 fill:#84C556,stroke:#72B043,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
style L24 fill:#84C556,stroke:#72B043,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
💡 The Learning Journey
Lesson 1.2 (shown in gold) is the validation bridge where your preliminary Problem Tree from Lesson 1.1 gets tested against community reality. Your stakeholder conversations feed directly into data synthesis (Lesson 1.3) and help shape a community-validated Theory of Change (Lesson 1.4). This authentic engagement becomes the credibility foundation for all Module 2 operational work.
⚠️ Common Pitfall
Many projects treat stakeholder mapping as a formality—checking a box for funders rather than genuinely engaging communities. This leads to extractive consultation, missed insights, and projects that fail because they weren't co-created with the people they're meant to serve. Invest time in authentic relationships here—they become your strongest asset throughout implementation.
🚀 Ready to Start?
Ready to Begin?
Start by exploring why stakeholder engagement is crucial for project success, or jump directly to the frameworks and tools you'll use.