Stakeholder Consultations

 Stakeholder Identification and Prioritization

Early in the CEO Endorsement Request Document process, the initial list of stakeholders created at PIF stage should be reassessed and validated. The list should be disseminated to stakeholders with an explanation on how other groups may be suggested or put themselves forward. It is important to not just rely on known entities, and to reach out to groups who typically may be excluded from decision making processes, in particular women and marginalized groups that can be affected by the project.

Based on the long-list of stakeholders, the Project Development Team should prioritize which stakeholders to engage with, at what frequency and with which methods. It is not practical and usually not necessary to engage all stakeholder groups with the same level of intensity all the time. Being strategic and clear as to whom is being engaged with and why can save resources and time.

Engage with Stakeholders

The Project Development Team should draft a plan that describes the stakeholders to be engaged during project development and the methods for engagement. This plan should be aligned with the PPG budget and PPG workplan. A template for a Project Development Stakeholder Engagement Plan can be found below.

Based on the plan above, the Project Development Team should engage project stakeholders. In general, Project Teams should choose a venue where stakeholders feel comfortable to facilitate more productive engagement processes – for governments this may be in their offices, or for communities this most likely is a location within the community. Engagement should begin with an introduction to the project, strategies, activities, and baselines. Consultations should be gender-responsive. The objective of these consultations its to gather stakeholders’ feedback on the project for incorporation into the project design, and to determine how stakeholders would like to be engaged with during project execution.

Below are resources on conducting proper stakeholder engagement. All consultations must be documented based on guidance in the WWF Standard on Stakeholder Engagement.