Stakeholder engagement
Stakeholder engagement is crucial to the development of public policy, decision-making, and business practice. Decision making is improved when stakeholder engagement improves communications, broadens community support for projects, and garners new resources, data and ideas. It is therefore often employed to tackle complex multi-dimensional problems, like those existing around biodiversity/conservation management. Attempts to resolve problems are more likely to succeed when decision making processes consider the social environment; and try to meet the needs of the stakeholders affected by it. This course provides practical guidance on how to plan and conduct effective Stakeholder Engagement processes, with emphasis on issues related to biodiversity/conservation management.
Course Contents
- Key Concepts and Principles of Stakeholder Engagement:
- Foresight planning
- Stakeholder Identification and Analysis
- Stakeholder Consultation
- Negotiation and Partnerships
- Integrating Stakeholder Engagement within the Project Cycle:
- Feasibility Analysis and Project Planning
- Stakeholder Involvement in Project Monitoring
- Reporting to Stakeholders
- Outreach, Dissemination and Adoption of Project Outcomes
Final Competencies
On completion of this module the learner will/should be able to;
- Analyse and identify stakeholders relevant to current biodiversity and conservation issues.
- Critically evaluate and select stakeholder engagement methods appropriate to contemporary issues.
- Design, implement and evaluate a stakeholder engagement strategy.
- Assess the efficacy of dissemination activities in achieving stakeholder adoption of project outcomes.
Teaching methods
- Guided self-study
- Online discussion group
- Self-reliant study activities
- Online lectures
Further course information can be found here: https://studiekiezer.ugent.be/studiefiche/en/C004383/2022
