| Tool | A step-by-step process to identify and engage key stakeholders. |
| Related Key Activities | Identify and map stakeholders affected by the WSI. |
| Questions Addressed |
Which organizations should be considered for the WSI? With whom does the WSI need to engage in order to ensure integrity? |
| Purpose | Enable WSI practitioners to understand the major influential groups and interests that should be involved in the design and implementation of the WSI in order to balance different interests toward serving the public good and building credibility and legitimacy:
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| Possible Users | WSI initiators with input from WSI participants. |
| Level of Effort | Depending on local context, stakeholder mapping can range from a simple to an extensive exercise (such as in areas where there are a diverse number of actors operating in the water resources management space). |
| WSI Phase | 1: Incubation and Initial Analysis |
Effective WSIs need a wide range of stakeholders — both the influential and the affected — to be engaged in appropriate ways. Identifying relevant stakeholders and understanding their perspectives and interests is known as stakeholder mapping. Without proper stakeholder mapping, the WSI may be unable to identify the wide variety of interests and concerns that exist in a particular context, potentially leading to an initiative that serves the more dominant and powerful to the detriment of others. Good stakeholder mapping helps mitigate integrity risks through identifying affected stakeholders so that they can be directly involved and better understood. This helps ensure that their legitimate interests and knowledge are taken into consideration.
The steps laid out below highlight what WSI initiators and participants need to do in order to successfully complete a stakeholder mapping exercise.
