After going through this topic, you will be able to:
Describe the benefits of involving stakeholders in training course design.
Undertake the process of stakeholder groups, individuals, organizations who have a claim, gain or benefit, or who feelthey should have some ownership of a process, programme or project. analysis.
Involve stakeholders at different phases of the course design process.
Increase ownership of
training programmes by relevant stakeholders, resulting in more successful
training outcomes.
Stakeholder analysis is a very interesting subject and is often a very popular training topic if you are training trainers. However, care should be taken to avoid carrying it out in a superficial way. As with all analysis, the more deeply it is done, the better will be the quality of the result. If you are using stakeholder analysis yourself, in order to ensure wider participation in your own training course designs, try to work with a small group of colleagues or friends throughout the process. Creating a small ‘learning group’ is a good way to increase the quality of reflection on the way you are working.
If you are providing training to future trainers in stakeholder analysis, first give an overview of what it entails, then explain each step very carefully, and give enough time for participants to practise each step (usually in small groups) before going to the next one. At the end, ensure there is enough time for a debriefing with all participants in a plenary session. In a training session, a stakeholder analysis may be done ‘for real’ or in an ‘imaginary setting’. As a trainer, you will need to help participants focus on the depth and quality of the outcomes of the exercise. Also try to keep a record on flipcharts, cards, etc. of points that come up in the discussion during the analysis; these are often as important as the actual analysis itself. You will need a fairly extensive collection of coloured cards and stationary for this.
What is stakeholder analysis?
— The identification of the key stakeholders in the process of training course design, an assessment of their interests, and the way in which these interests are likely to affect the process.
— A stakeholder analysis aims to ensure that objectives are achieved, and that an activity will be sustainable.
Why do a stakeholder analysis?
— To draw out the interests of stakeholders in relation to the training need being addressed (the ‘why factors’).
— To identify conflicts of interest.
— To identify relations between stakeholders which can be built upon.
— To assess the appropriate type of participation by different stakeholders at different stages of the curriculum a guide for learning which integrates the philosophy and orientation of a trainingprogramme, expected learning outcomes, key content, methodology and evaluation for the teaching and learning process. development process.
How to do a stakeholder analysis
1. Identify the basic question. E.g., ‘who are the stakeholders in a training programme on tree domestication?’
2. List the stakeholders.
3. Group them into outsiders and insiders.
4. Identify their interests in the training (expectations, benefits, resources offered, withheld; i.e. why are they stakeholders?).
5. Identify the relationships between different stakeholders.
6. Do they have common or conflicting interests?
7. Are they closely related or not?
8. Analyse the relative importance and influence of each stakeholder.
For importance, we think about the level of satisfaction of the needs or interests of each stakeholder through our training (client relations).
For influence, we think about the level of the effect of a stakeholder on our training (power relations).
9. Identify the potential role of each stakeholder in the PCD Participatory Curriculum Development process in terms of their contribution and also the level of their participation;
to be informed
to be consulted
to be in partnership
to be in control.
Tips for trainers:
Follow these steps carefully, giving enough time for each step.
Visualize all the outcomes of each step.
Make links between the steps.
Listen to/observe interactions between participants engaged in the analysis; these are also very useful.
IIED. 2001. Stakeholder Power Analysis. London: IIED.
Rogers A and Taylor P. 1998. Participatory Curriculum Development in Agricultural Education. A Training Guide. Rome: FAO.
Rudebjer P, Taylor P and Del Castillo RA eds. 2001. A Guide to Learning Agroforestry. Nairobi: ICRAF.