Stakeholder Analysis For Youth Programmes
Stakeholder Analysis For Youth Programmes
Stakeholder Analysis For Youth Programmes
Glossary
Effective programmes: Programmes that are planned and carried out to achieve the desired effect of improving young peoples sexual and reproductive health. Impact: The positive or negative effect that a stakeholders participation or actions can have on a project. Influence: The power a stakeholder has to sway other stakeholders or the course of a project. Reproductive health: Reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this last condition is the right of men and women to be informed and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, as well as other methods of their choice for regulation of fertility which are not against the law, and the right of access to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant (Definition endorsed by 165 countries at the International Conference on Population and Development Cairo 1994). Resources: The total means available for carrying out a project, including people, materials, systems, skills and policies. Sexuality: Sexuality is a central aspect of being human throughout life and encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviours, practices, roles and relationships. While sexuality can include all of these dimensions, not all of them are always experienced or expressed. Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, ethical, legal, historical and religious and spiritual factors (WHO Draft working definition, October 2002). Sexual health: Sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled (WHO Draft working definition, October 2002). Stakeholder: An individual, group or institution interested in or affected by a project. Stakeholder analysis: A set of tools to consider stakeholders opinions in planning and implementing a project. Support: The encouragement or aid that a stakeholder gives to, or withholds from a project. Young people: People between the ages of 10 and 24.
Contents
1. Stakeholder Analysis Its Utility as a Tool in Designing Projects in Young Peoples Sexual And Reproductive Health 1.1. What is stakeholder analysis? 1.2. Why is stakeholder analysis a useful tool in the area of development? 1.3. Young peoples Sexual and Reproductive Health 1.4. The relevance of stakeholder analysis in designing programmes in young peoples Sexual and Reproductive Health 2. Steps Involved in Stakeholder Analysis 2.1. Clarify the aim of the stakeholder analysis 2.2. Determine the scope of the stakeholder analysis 2.3. Ascertain the time frame of the analysis 2.4. Understand the cultural context in which the analysis is being conducted 2.5. Select an analyst or a team to conduct the analysis 3. Conducting a Stakeholder Analysis 3.1. Who are your stakeholders? 3.2. How much power and interest do each of these stakeholders have? 3.3. How can a project manager use the learnings from a stakeholder analysis to work for the success of a project? 4. Summary Sheets References 6 6 6 7 8 10 10 10 11 11 11 13 13 14 17 20 24
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1. Stakeholder Analysis
Its Utility as a Tool in Designing Projects in Young Peoples Sexual And Reproductive Health
1.3. Young peoples Sexual and Reproductive Health
By the end of this year, 2006, there will be an estimated two billion young people (people between the ages of 10 and 24) in the world. Between these ages, young peoples bodies change and mature, and they also go through many social, psychological and emotional changes. For many young people, this is a time of exploration, when they try out different roles, identities and values, trying to discover who they are. They explore their own expectations and needs, and look for means to fulfil them. Sexuality, too, plays an important role during this period. Many young people become more aware of sexual content in their social environment, the movies and media. Many engage in sexual experimentation, which may also take the form of initiating some sexual contact. This may be with themselves through touching, feeling or masturbation; and also with others. This process is complicated by many factors, including cultural expectations and prohibitions, the definition of their behaviour by adult meanings, and the availability of much distorted and fragmented information related to sexuality through the media. While adolescence and youth are often celebrated as a time of high energy and increased opportunities, they can also be times which are complex and confusing. The confusion can be especially pronounced in the area of sexuality, depending on how it is understood and played out in different social and cultural contexts. The confusion related to young peoples sexuality gets reflected in a special vulnerability that has become apparent
throughout the world in the matter of young peoples sexual and reproductive health. This vulnerability has been further complicated by the decline in the age of onset of puberty and increase in the age of marriage, as well as increasing mobility and economic vulnerability in many societies. Consider some of the statistics related to the sexual and reproductive health of young people: STIs are most common among 15-24-year-olds Half of all new HIV infections (totalling around three million a year) occur in this age group More than five million girls aged 15-19 seek abortions each year - the majority in unsafe, illegal conditions 60% of all women hospitalised for abortion complications are adolescents Maternal mortality rates are twice as high for those in the 1519 age bracket as for women in their 20s Every year, 15 million women under the age of 20 give birth 60% of these pregnancies are unwanted or untimely. (Source: http://www.mariestopes.org.uk/ww/young-people.htm)
international conventions, conferences and their programmes of action, which explicitly emphasize the importance of sexual and reproductive rights and health services for young people. These are: International Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) International Conference on Population and Development (1994) ICPD + 5 (1999) UN Womens Conference Beijing + 5 (2000). As such, many Governments as well as organisations that serve young people have committed themselves to developing rights-based programmes that contribute to the promotion of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of young people. However, because sexuality is such a sensitive topic in many cultures in the world, and because most societies tend to be especially protective of young people, there may be more of an emotional charge and a heightened sensitivity to projects in the SRH field. This is where carrying out an assessment using a tool like Stakeholder Analysis can be especially useful. Resources, particularly for social concerns like health, tend to be limited and have conflicting claims on them. Lately, there have also been increased demands for accountability in terms of results for social spending. While investing resources in an SRH project therefore, it would be useful to explicitly recognize that future returns in terms of indicators like reduced sexual risk-taking behaviours of young people, improved access to information and services, more supportive attitudes from the community, and improved health, will depend on the actions and reactions of multiple
players in the process. Identifying the significant stakeholders in the project, and taking into account their past behaviour and current intentions, stated aims and unstated concerns, the networks that they have formed with one another, as well as the resources they can contribute or the influence they can wield, are all important factors for the design, implementation and outcomes of the project. Thus, in conducting a stakeholder analysis for an SRH project, data related to stakeholders, including young people, health providers, donors and community actors, are collected and analysed. The data may help understand how, given that particular context, set of actors and circumstances, decisions relating to an issue (e.g., the mode of communicating with young people or the nature of services provided) are taken. This analysis may provide pointers on which actors may need to be influenced, or what circumstances may need to be altered, and in what ways, in order to contribute to the success of a project. This information can then feed into strategic and action planning processes. Stakeholders of considerable influence and resources who are already positively inclined towards the project may need to be encouraged to come together and catalyze the process. Stakeholders who could potentially help the process but know little of the project may have to be provided with information about the need for it and its potential benefits, and convinced of the necessity of their participation. Sharing information may also be one strategy in a range that needs to be used to take into account and strategically address the opposition of stakeholders who may take a negative perspective on the project.
In recent years, stakeholder analysis has also been used extensively in the ICT fields, and learnings from this field may also be used while designing sexual and reproductive health programmes for young people.
1.4. The relevance of stakeholder analysis in designing programmes in young peoples Sexual and Reproductive Health
The compelling and difficult realities reflected in the statistics above make the design of effective programmes to promote young peoples sexual and reproductive health imperative. In addition, many Governments have recognized the importance of designing such programmes using a rights-based perspective. Many Governments are also signatories to four
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PRELIMINARY STEPS 10
2.4. Understand the cultural context in which the analysis is being conducted
To collect relevant information that can be used to conduct a valid stakeholder analysis, it is important to understand the communication protocols and constraints that operate in that country, community hierarchy, Government structure or other context. Certain key stakeholders may not share information that may, nevertheless, be extremely important. For example, if a programme is being designed to prevent the trafficking
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analyst needs to be enough of an insider to understand the cultural context, and detect not-so-obvious stakeholders who might nevertheless wield some influence. On the other, the analyst must not have strong biases or vested interests that might compromise the reliability of the analysis.
Identify the (groups of) people who are affected by the project, who have resources, power or influence to use for or against the project or who can impact it. Stakeholders may be primary (if they are directly affected by the project, either positively or negatively) or secondary (implementing organisations, donor agencies, the Government, etc.) They may also be perceived as internal (stakeholders within the organisation) or external (outside the organisation). e.g., Possible stakeholders for a Sexual and Reproductive Health programme for young people might be: Young people in the community (target group) Parents Neighbours and the larger community Religious leaders School teachers Health service providers (Government and private) Healers in traditional systems of medicine Midwives/Traditional birth attendants Government departments NGOs Donor Agencies Media Director of Finance/Accounts Officer Project Staff, etc. It is important to note that there may be single individuals who wield particular influence, especially in small communities, so they may need to be listed separately as well. Gergen (1956) noted that such key actors could act as leverage points to contribute significantly to the success or
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3.2. How much power and interest do each of these stakeholders have?
The next step in conducting a stakeholder analysis is to try to determine how much interest each of the stakeholders on the list has in the project (high/medium/low), and how much power, influence or resources each can command. Even someone with considerable power or influence may not use this if she is not interested. Several methods may be used in order to determine the levels of influence and interest of different stakeholders. Analysts may apply a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. One-on-one interviews, focus group discussions, Likert scales, and ordinal scales may all help elicit information from key informants about stakeholders. Based on the time and resources available, multiple informants and multiple analysts may participate in the exercise. Collecting information through a stakeholder analysis may be very useful for, among other things, testing unquestioned assumptions. One organisation which introduced a programme on adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Eastern India had expected the Muslim clerics in the region to have reservations about the programme. To their surprise, they found this group comparatively progressive and supportive. In contrast, some of the Hindu priests were reluctant to give up traditional beliefs and superstitions related to puberty, and tribal religious leaders were reluctant to allow any external agency to provide information and therefore, develop an influence over the community. The Overseas Development Association (1995) suggested the following checklist to draw out the interests of stakeholders. Interests of all types of stakeholders may be difficult to define, especially if they are hidden, or in contradiction with the openly stated aims of the organisations or groups involved. A rule of thumb is to relate each stakeholder to either the problems which the project is seeking to address (if at an early stage of the project), or the established objectives of the project (if the project is already under way). Interests may be drawn out by asking: What are the stakeholder's expectations of the project? What benefits are there likely to be for the stakeholders? What resources will the stakeholder wish to commit (or avoid committing) to the project? What other interests does the stakeholder have which may conflict with the project? How does the stakeholder regard others in the list? Information on secondary stakeholders should be available from institutional appraisals; information on primary stakeholders should be available from social analyses. Especially in the case of primary stakeholders, many of the interests will have to be defined by the persons with the best on-the-ground experience. Double check the interests being ascribed to primary groups, to confirm that they are plausible.
Elliot (1991a) suggested that information collected on stakeholders be used to construct a Stakeholder Assessment Map (SAM). A sample given by Elliot is shown below: Stakeholder Assessment Map Stakeholder Goals, motivations, and interests Power and influence Importance to and impact on project Role in project Win-win strategies
However, criteria may be added or deleted in a map according to its relevance to the project, including whether stakeholders are internal or external, or beneficiaries of the project, etc. Bob Dick (1997) suggests the use of 6-column table to conduct this part of the process, as well as to record strategic actions that suggest themselves to work with different stakeholders for the success of the project. Title of Project/Interim Goal STAKEHOLDER Estimate ATTITUDE Confidence Estimate INFLUENCE Confidence ACTION
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Dick suggests the use of a system of symbols to fill in the table. Attitude is estimated from supportive to opposed using a five-point scale as follows: ++ strongly in favour + weakly in favour o indifferent or undecided weakly opposed -strongly opposed Influence is estimated along a three-point scale as follows: H High - this person or group has power of veto, formally or informally M Medium - you could probably achieve your goals against this person's or group's opposition, but not easily L Low - this person can do little to influence the outcomes of your intended actions
In both cases, the degree of confidence with which the estimate is made is also gauged, using a four-point symbol scale: ? ?? ??? fully confident reasonably confident (some missing information, perhaps, or some doubts about interpretation) informed guess wild guess or sheer fantasy
However, she recommends that such tables be customized to suit the nature of the project. Thus, level of impact may be a criterion that may be more appropriate to use once the project is well under way, or when it is completed. Manktelow (undated) suggested that the combination of power and interest can be depicted on a grid as below, with the vertical axis representing access to power from minimal to extensive power, and the horizontal axis representing positions from negligible interest to very high interest. E.g., if the project was one which tried to provide awareness about STDs to young people who approach a clinic:
Dick recommends that unless the group is in unanimous agreement, at least one question mark is called for. Elliot (2001b) suggests the use of four criteria in an Analysis Table of the kind given below to analyse key stakeholders. The extent of Interest, Influence, Impact and Support (positive or negative) are assessed.
The local Government, for which sexual health may not be priority because of lack of funds and low accountability, may represent a low interest, low power group in relation to the project. Young people may have high interest but low power, being diffident or not knowing how to access the project, due to community disapproval. Parents may have high power to promote the success of the project, but may not view STDs as a threat for their own children, and hence may have low interest. A conservative religious leader in the community may have the high power to influence the community to either use the project or not, and high interest if he has certain perceptions about the project: for example, that it might promote promiscuity, or educate young people about the evils of promiscuity.
High
3.3. How can a project manager use the learnings from a stakeholder analysis to work for the success of a project?
Based on the understandings derived of various stakeholders, it is possible to determine different ways of working with them. For instance, an organisation working on adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Rwanda found that religious leaders had a great deal of influence: It is very easy for a Roman Catholic adept [in our cultural context] to agree with the priest that if you use condom youll go to Satans fire than accept that condoms can help people to avoid unwanted pregnancy, HIV, STDs However, their conservative stance also meant that the religious leaders did not evince a great deal of interest in the programme. Hence, project staff took
Stakeholder
Level of INTEREST
Level of INFLUENCE
Level of IMPACT
Level of SUPPORT
Total
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into account their presence and influence, but did not extensively share information with them. Overseas Development Administration (1995) recommends the use of a Summary Participation Matrix to help project managers determine the nature of the interactions (Inform, Consult, Partnership, Control) that may need to take place at different stages of the project cycle with different stakeholders. Varvasovszky and Brugha (2000b) suggest that the forms that interactions take (Involve, Collaborate, Defend, Monitor) would also depend on the positions (Supportive, Mixed, Non-Supportive, Marginal) of the key stakeholders. Elliot (2001b) suggests that the stakeholder analysis process can also be used to develop a Stakeholder Reporting Matrix (SRM), which specifies what aspects of a project should be communicated to key stakeholders, the level of detail of the reports, the frequency of reporting (weekly, annually, etc.), the best format (bullets, graphics, narratives, etc.) and the delivery mechanism (personal presentations, email, etc.) in order to maintain collaboration at optimum levels. Similar sets of stakeholders may react very differently in different contexts, hence it is important to test assumptions. Schoolteachers in Eastern India campaigned vigorously against an SRH programme for young people, while their counterparts in Tanzania sought training, and made time during the school day, isolating time from extra-curricular activity slots, to impart SRH education to the young people with whom they worked. Further, it is important to remember that stakeholders positions on the power-influence grid are not static.
A programme in SRH for young people, highly popular with the young people, parents, teachers and larger community, was discontinued in a Southern Indian state when a new Government with different priorities was voted into power and resources dried up. Given the popularity of the programme, a strategic media campaign could have put pressure on the Government to continue funding the programme. Thus, information from ongoing stakeholder analysis can help project managers of SRH programmes for young people to determine ways of including different groups of stakeholders and attending to their needs, to win their support and make the projects a success.
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What is the aim of the stakeholder analysis? a) To be a predictive tool c) To monitor the project d) To evaluate the project
1. Identify opportunities for positive change 2. Identify possible obstacles 3. Decide on whether project is relevant and viable
RAPID
SHORT-TERM
Learn what might work with different stakeholders at different stages of the project
LONG-TERM/ MULTIPLE
1. Check if project aims are conflicting with stakeholder interests 2. Identify and get support of key stakeholders who can help overcome obstacles
1. Learn who benefited and how much 2. Learn whose positions on issues changed over time, and how.
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What strategies can be used to increase this stakeholders interest in the project? (e.g., effective, periodic communication on the benefits of the project) Would it be useful for project outcomes to invest resources on increasing the power and interest of this stakeholder? What strategies can increase the power of this stakeholder? (e.g., alliance with a partner, supportive changes in the law, etc.) What strategies can help to optimize collaboration with this stakeholder?
POSITIVE
How should on-going monitoring of this stakeholder take place to prevent negative impact on the project? Using minimum project resources, how can this stakeholders position be monitored? What strategies will prevent this stakeholder from negatively impacting the project? (e.g., monitoring alliances with more powerful partners) How can the project be defended from negative impacts from this stakeholder?
NEGATIVE
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REFERENCES
1. Dick, B. (1997) Stakeholder analysis [On line]. Accessed at http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/stake.html 2. Brugha, R., & Varvasovszky, Z. (2000a). Stakeholder analysis: A review. Health Policy and Planning. 15(3), 239-246. 3. Brugha, R., & Varvasovszky, Z. (2000b). How to do (or not to do): A stakeholder analysis. Health Policy and Planning. 15(3), 338-345. 4. Elliott, L. (2001a). Ask these questions to reach your stakeholders. Accessed at http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r0072001111 4lel01.htm 5. Elliott, L. (2001b). Use these two forms to analyse your stakeholders. Accessed at http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r0072001102 5gcn01.htm 6. Gergen, K. J. (1968). Assessing the leverage points in the process of policy formulation. In Bauer, R. & Gergen, K.J. (eds.). The study of policy formulation. pp. 181-204. New York: The Free Press. 7. Lindenberg, M., & Crosby, B. (1981). Managing development: The political dimension. Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press. 8. Manktelow, R. (Undated). Stakeholder analysis & stakeholder management: Winning support for your projects. Accessed at http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm 9. Overseas Development Administration. (1995). Guidance note on how to do stakeholder analysis of aid projects and programmes. Accessed at http://www.euforic.org/gb/stake1.htm
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