We talk a lot about collaboration, but who gets to collaborate in the first place?
A good steak is a well-regarded delicacy in many cultures- albeit one that is quite bad for the environment. The person who is holding the steak, likely the chef, is the one deemed responsible. And yet, usually they are not the only person at the table. But who else gets to be involved, and who decided on steak in the first place?
Of course, this post is not actually about steak. Whenever you talk about project management, the term ‘stakeholder’ is virtually guaranteed to come up.[1] And while I would love to explore the interesting etymological history of the word, here we will consider stakeholders to be ‘people or parties with an interest or concern pertaining to a project or undertaking’.[2]
Who gets to be a stakeholder?
Any project, may it be research or otherwise, has to be initiated by someone (think: the person suggesting a dinner party). As virtually all projects require resources in some form, it first needs to be established that the project has value to someone (why would one spend money on it otherwise?). ‘Value’, in this case, need not be monetary – it could also be a perceived (chance for) a contribution to the greater good, personal interest, (having dinner with friends) etc.[2] In this process, two stakeholders are often immediately defined: The party that is deeming the project valuable and providing funding, and the person who is requesting/initiating the process. (The host is not automatically the chef.)
But then, another important step needs to be taken. Someone needs to decide who else gets to be involved (is invited to the dinner party) and, perhaps even more importantly, who should be asked to contribute (bring a salad).[2] This responsibility often lies with the initiator.
All stakeholders are not equal[1]
Various reasons may lead to some of the stakeholders being excluded from a project, ranging from plain oversight (or incompetence) to the fact that a certain stakeholder may not be reachable or uninterested or unable to be involved. (A dinner guest may have other obligations or cannot make it to your house, or maybe they cannot stand you because of that fight you had last summer.)
Being involved, though, does not mean much. The degree as to which a stakeholder is allowed to participate or interfere is much more important.[2] (Are they only allowed to bring guacamole, or can they suggest you have pizza instead?) Only then can we truly speak of co-creation.[2] Unfortunately, these obstacles do not have an obvious fix. In the end, it is the project initiator’s responsibility to do their best to invite the right number of people to the dinner party and ideally be open to all their suggestions.[2]
References
[1] Hörisch, J., Freeman, R. E. & Schaltegger, S. Applying stakeholder theory in Sustainability Management. Organization & Environment 27, 328–346 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026614535786
[2] Klenk, N. L. & Meehan, K. Transdisciplinary sustainability research beyond engagement models: Toward adventures in relevance. Environmental Science & Policy 78, 27–35 (2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.09.006