Aldrin A.

Sinconiegue, RSW

I. Project Identification Tools

 A process to asses each project idea and select the project with the highest priority.
 Concerned with collection, compilation and analysis of economic data for the eventual
purpose of locating possible opportunities for investment.

II. Some tools used in project identification:

1. Stakeholder Analysis

 Every stakeholder will have a unique view of your project and different perceptions about
the change it is supposed to bring.
 Stakeholder analysis helps you discover what your stakeholders need and expect from
your project. It allows you to identify key stakeholders, the ones with a positive attitude
towards your project and those who might oppose it.
 With this information, you can plan different strategies and choose the best types of
communication to engage with them based on the value they see in the project. You’ll
keep your supporters as contributors and help the resistant ones gain positive attitudes
towards the change.
 Your work will be more productive, as you will know where to allocate time and effort
properly and proactively address any potential risks or issues identified.

Benefits from analyzing stakeholders

Here are a few of the benefits of conducting a stakeholder analysis:
o Being inclusive
 By identifying and analyzing your stakeholders, you obtain a clear
picture of who they are and ensure all those who are impacted by your
project are considered.
o Engaging effectively
 Grouping your stakeholders based on your analysis allows you to plan
targeted communications for each group, increasing your chances of
positive engagement.
o Promoting understanding and alignment
 Creating communication channels facilitates for your stakeholders to
understand the project goal and its benefits, building trust and helping
the project get support.
o Anticipating issues
 Knowing your stakeholders helps you plan actions in advance,
avoiding potential problems that could hurt the project underway.
 Aldrin A. Sinconiegue, RSW

o Gaining insights
 Your key stakeholders may share relevant opinions and views with
you, which you can use to improve the project (and as an additional
benefit, gain more of their support).

Stakeholder analysis in project management

o If your project is already in motion and is facing some trouble, stakeholder
analysis is a great tool to reassess issues so you can establish the best course
of action on how to tackle them.
o Stakeholder analysis is not supposed to be a one-time process, especially if
your project is long. People’s interest in a project can change, and new
stakeholders may be identified in a second analysis conducted six months
after the first one (that you would otherwise overlook).
o Consider the duration of your project to stipulate how frequently you should
conduct a new stakeholder analysis.
How to do a stakeholder analysis?
o Analyzing stakeholders consists of three parts: identify, categorize and
prioritize.
o Once your stakeholder analysis is complete, you will have the necessary
understanding of your stakeholders to plan your communications in a
stakeholder engagement plan.

1. Stakeholder identification

To analyse your stakeholders, you first must know who they are. Your
project stakeholders will include anyone who’s impacted by your project, have an
interest in it or can influence it.

Consider individuals, groups and organizations. Local communities,

residents, partners, suppliers, government, media and your organization’s
employees, investors and clients.

Here are a few ideas you can use to identify stakeholders:

 Brainstorm sessions with your team and also other departments;

 Check past projects from your company and look for their contacts
data;
 Ask other departments about their current projects and consider
their stakeholders;
 Aldrin A. Sinconiegue, RSW

 Research the market for the same type of project where you may
be able to identify their stakeholders.
 Your stakeholders will have a multitude of motivations that connect them with your
project in different ways. Focus on learning about these motivations and identifying their
interests with your stakeholders’ perspective in mind, not yours.
 Consider age, location, political opinion, religion, values, income, and financial and
business interests as some of the factors that can influence how they see your project.
 Asking your stakeholders about their expectations regarding the project and the benefits
they see from the project’s completion will help you obtain a better level of
understanding.
 The more you learn about them, the better chances you have to provide them with
relevant information that addresses their concerns.
 After exhausting all your sources of information, you will likely have an extensive list of
stakeholders to work with.

2. Stakeholder categorization

Now that you have identified all your stakeholders, it’s time to categorize them.

The idea is to separate them into groups based on certain criteria, such as commonalities,
interests or motivations.

The most common models used for this exercise are the Interest/Influence Matrix and the
Salience Model:

 The Interest/Influence Matrix

This matrix considers the levels of involvement and power your stakeholders have on your
project to classify them into four different quadrants.
 Aldrin A. Sinconiegue, RSW

 The Salience Model

The Salience Model classifies stakeholders by attributing eight different stakeholder types. They
are categorised considering the three parameters of power, legitimacy and urgency.

1. Dormant - Dormant stakeholders have the power to impose their views on the organization but
lack the legitimacy or urgency to do so, so their power remains unused.

Ex. High-level management team, former employees or people who know sensitive information
about your company.
 Aldrin A. Sinconiegue, RSW

2. Discretionary stakeholders possess legitimacy, but lack the power and urgent claim to
influence the organization.

Ex. NGOs or charitable organizations

3. Demanding stakeholders are those with urgent claims but lack the power and legitimacy to
attract the attention of managers or decision-makers.
Ex. people with unjustified grudges, serial complainers or low return customers.

4. Dominant stakeholders are both powerful and legitimate, and typically have views that matter
to managers.

Ex. Boards of directors, HR department, public relations.

5. Dangerous stakeholders have the power and urgency but lack legitimacy, and are in a position
to have a negative impact on the organization.

Ex. employee sabotage or coercive/unlawful tactics used by activists.

6. Dependent stakeholders have urgent claims and legitimate views but often rely on other
stakeholders to carry out their will to compensate for a lack of power to influence the
organization

Ex. local residents

7. Definitive stakeholder - Definitive stakeholders are a class and category unto themselves.
They possess all three attributes and should be given the most attention. Change team leaders
must engage this group and maintain strong relationships during the project. Definitive
stakeholders should have the opportunity to provide input to major decisions and feedback on
current progress.

Ex: Team Leader

3. Stakeholder types

Your stakeholders fit into one of the three stakeholder types:

 Key stakeholders
o Those who have a high influence or importance on your project, and can have a
direct impact on it. They can play an important role in the project’s outcomes.
 Primary stakeholders
o Stakeholders who are most affected by the project. They can either be positively
or negatively impacted.
 Secondary stakeholders
 Aldrin A. Sinconiegue, RSW

o People or organizations who are indirectly affected by the project or its outcomes.
They may have less interest in it, but still must be engaged.