A Critical Appraisal of the Stakeholder Analysis
A critical appraisal of stakeholder analysis: Defining the stakeholder:
The development sector is awash with participatory methodology, in part as a result of and a continued commitment to the Paris Declaration, but equally as a means to lend credence and legitimacy to development activities and interventions. One such methodology is the stakeholder analysis which is, agreeably, rather a nice tool and very much in keeping with current development themes of local empowerment and participation. From big international institutions down to small grassroots organisations, it is all about the stakeholder and everyone is falling over themselves to be seen as involving them from programme conceptualisation to deployment and implementation through to completion and evaluation. So much so that Prell (2007) has said stakeholder analysis has ‘... gained attention and is now integral to development initiatives’* (p. 1)*.This essay aims to critically analyse stakeholder analysis by exploring how – as a tool for development – it has been deployed in the implementation of development interventions. It will delineate the process, highlighting its utility at the same time as paying attention to criticisms that have been levelled against it. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of the definition and or identification of the ‘stakeholder’ stage, which is central to the whole process and a key determinant of the overall outcome of the process. In particular, it will question the misplaced view of the stakeholder as static. The essay will then conclude by arguing that on balance, useful as the tool may be, as is characterised by its ubiquitous use, the ‘stakeholder’ still presents a grey area, one that has – as one example will show – led to the need by some practitioners to deploy it in conjunction with other tools. Crucially, and in the absence of a single viable alternative, more study is required if it is to continue to be widely used.
Process:
Stakeholder analysis
The development sector is awash with participatory methodology, in part as a result of and a continued commitment to the Paris Declaration, but equally as a means to lend credence and legitimacy to development activities and interventions. One such methodology is the stakeholder analysis which is, agreeably, rather a nice tool and very much in keeping with current development themes of local empowerment and participation. From big international institutions down to small grassroots organisations, it is all about the stakeholder and everyone is falling over themselves to be seen as involving them from programme conceptualisation to deployment and implementation through to completion and evaluation. So much so that Prell (2007) has said stakeholder analysis has ‘... gained attention and is now integral to development initiatives’* (p. 1)*.This essay aims to critically analyse stakeholder analysis by exploring how – as a tool for development – it has been deployed in the implementation of development interventions. It will delineate the process, highlighting its utility at the same time as paying attention to criticisms that have been levelled against it. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of the definition and or identification of the ‘stakeholder’ stage, which is central to the whole process and a key determinant of the overall outcome of the process. In particular, it will question the misplaced view of the stakeholder as static. The essay will then conclude by arguing that on balance, useful as the tool may be, as is characterised by its ubiquitous use, the ‘stakeholder’ still presents a grey area, one that has – as one example will show – led to the need by some practitioners to deploy it in conjunction with other tools. Crucially, and in the absence of a single viable alternative, more study is required if it is to continue to be widely used.
Process:
Stakeholder analysis