How can you ensure inclusive stakeholder engagement?

1 Step 1: Define your purpose and scope

Before you engage with your stakeholders, you need to have a clear idea of why, what, and how you want to communicate with them. Define your purpose and scope by setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives for your engagement process. For example, you may want to inform your stakeholders about a new airport project, solicit their feedback on a proposed policy change, or invite them to co-create a solution for a common challenge.

2 Step 2: Identify and analyze your stakeholders

The next step is to identify and analyze your stakeholders based on their interest, influence, expectations, and needs. You can use various tools and methods to map out your stakeholders, such as stakeholder analysis matrices, power-interest grids, or stakeholder salience models. The goal is to understand who your stakeholders are, what they care about, how they can affect or be affected by your airport, and how to prioritize and segment them for engagement.

3 Step 3: Design your engagement strategy and plan

Once you have a clear picture of your stakeholders, you can design your engagement strategy and plan. This involves choosing the appropriate level, mode, frequency, and format of engagement for each stakeholder group. You can use the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) spectrum of engagement to guide your choices, ranging from informing, consulting, involving, collaborating, to empowering. You also need to consider the best methods and channels to reach your stakeholders, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, workshops, webinars, or social media.

4 Step 4: Implement your engagement activities

The fourth step is to implement your engagement activities according to your plan. This requires preparing and delivering clear, consistent, and relevant messages to your stakeholders, as well as listening and responding to their inputs, concerns, and suggestions. You also need to ensure that your engagement activities are inclusive, accessible, and respectful of the diversity and needs of your stakeholders. For example, you may need to provide translation, interpretation, or accessibility services, or use culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive language and methods.

5 Step 5: Monitor and evaluate your engagement outcomes

The fifth step is to monitor and evaluate your engagement outcomes to measure the effectiveness and impact of your engagement process. You can use various indicators and methods to assess your engagement outcomes, such as satisfaction, participation, feedback, learning, trust, relationships, or changes in behavior or attitude. You also need to collect and analyze data and evidence to support your findings and recommendations, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or reports.

6 Step 6: Report and follow up on your engagement results

The final step is to report and follow up on your engagement results to demonstrate accountability and transparency to your stakeholders. You need to communicate the results of your engagement process, such as the key findings, insights, decisions, actions, or impacts, to your stakeholders in a timely, clear, and accessible manner. You also need to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions and feedback of your stakeholders, and inform them of the next steps and opportunities for further engagement.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?