<Project Name> - Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
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<Project Name>
Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
Note to Authors
This is a standard template that has been designed to help you create this document.
Please ensure your Communication & Stakeholder Engagement Manager is involved
in the development of this document.
Text in blue (using the style ‘Normal Blue’) is advice and guidance, which must be
deleted from your final document. All other text should remain in the final document.
It is recommended that you use only the styles that have been defined within this
template. If you would like more information about the styles used in this template
see the NHS Connecting for Health Style Guide.
© Crown Copyright 2016
<Project Name> Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
Amendment History:
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Document Control:
The controlled copy of this document is maintained in the NHS CFH Electronic
Document and Records Management System. Any copies of this document held
outside of that system, in whatever format (e.g. paper, email attachment), are
considered to have passed out of control and should be checked for currency and
validity.
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<Project Name> Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
Contents
1
About this Document ...........................................................................................4
1.1
Purpose ........................................................................................................4
1.2
Audience ......................................................................................................4
1.3
Background....................................................................................................4
1.4
Scope.............................................................................................................4
1.5
Timeframe......................................................................................................5
2
Stakeholder Engagement Objectives ..................................................................5
3
Target Stakeholders ............................................................................................5
4
3.1
Mapping and Prioritising Stakeholders .........................................................5
3.2
Routes to Stakeholders ................................................................................6
Engagement Methods .........................................................................................6
4.1
Type of activity .............................................................................................6
4.1.1
Giving Information
7
4.1.2
Enabling participation and dialogue
7
4.1.3
Establishing partnerships
7
5
Budget & Expenses .............................................................................................8
6
Evaluation............................................................................................................8
7
Risks and Issues...................................................................................................8
8
Tactical Plan..........................................................................................................8
9
Stakeholder Engagement Delivery........................................................................8
10 Governance...........................................................................................................9
A
Appendix - Stakeholder Map Template ............................................................10
B
Appendix – Stakeholder List Template .............................................................11
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<Project Name> Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
1 About this Document
1.1 Purpose
MANDATORY
Set out the purpose of the document, confirming that it is a stakeholder engagement
strategy which sets out stakeholder engagement objectives, identifies and prioritises
stakeholders and proposes engagement activities, success criteria and the budget
and resources needed for successful delivery.
It is important to confirm that the strategy is very much a living document. It will be
reviewed and revised as appropriate as the programme or project evolves and as
objectives are met and/or stakeholder feedback and insight is received. State here
when the natural review points might be.
Your strategy should be accompanied by a tactical plan identifying precisely what
activities will be delivered when, and by whom. State whether this is available now, or
whether it will be developed once agreement has been reached about the overall
strategic approach.
It should also be made clear whether a communication strategy and/or plan has been
developed for the same programme and project, as these are companion documents
and there is some potential for duplication.
1.2 Audience
MANDATORY
Who has the document been written for? Possible audiences may include:

enior responsible owner

he programme or project board

he programme or project team
1.3 Background
MANDATORY
What is the organisational context in which the stakeholder engagement strategy
must operate?
What are the wider programme, project or workstream priorities which the strategy
must support?
Is this the first stakeholder engagement strategy, or an updated version of an existing
one (if it is an update, why is it being updated now?)
Do you have a communication strategy?
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1.4 Scope
MANDATORY
Include here what is in and out of scope for this stakeholder engagement strategy.
Are there any stakeholders who will not be addressed by the strategy?
Have you ensured that your stakeholder engagement strategy complements, and
avoids duplication with, where appropriate, your communication strategy?
1.5 Timeframe
MANDATORY
What period of time is this stakeholder engagement strategy designed to cover?
When will it be updated and what will drive this?
2 Stakeholder Engagement Objectives
MANDATORY
What are the primary objectives of this stakeholder engagement strategy?
How do these objectives tie in with wider programme/project objectives, and
organisational, Department of Health, NHS and Government priorities? You may
wish to include these wider programme/project objectives before outlining those for
the stakeholder engagement strategy.
Objectives should be as succinct and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic, Time-bound) as possible.
How will the impact of the strategy be measured – and over what period of time?
Remember: you will ultimately want to evaluate success against the objectives that
you set.
Example objectives might include:

nsure that (xx%) of targeted stakeholders are involved in the development of a
programme or project deliverable, e.g. system specification, business case,
software solution etc

ecruit (x number of) stakeholders as advocates for a particular deliverable or
point of view

xx%) of targeted stakeholders know what mechanisms to use to raise
concerns with the programme
3 Target Stakeholders
3.1 Mapping and prioritising stakeholders
MANDATORY
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Which stakeholders do we need to engage with?
What rationale are we using to identify them? Be systematic and consider all parts of
the project (e.g. technical, business, geographic)
Use past stakeholder information – refer to programmes and projects which may
have similar stakeholders, see what they have done and use their learning
Consider all stages of the programme or project lifecycle – some organisations and
individuals may not be stakeholders now, but could be in the future.
Stakeholders’ influence and interest may change over time.
Are some stakeholders a higher priority than others? Which stakeholders are likely to
have the most interest/influence in this area? Would we also like to engage with
some stakeholders who are less likely to be affected?
You may wish to use the stakeholder map template to illustrate your stakeholders’
current levels of interest and influence – Appendix A
You may wish to use the stakeholder list template to analyse the current and target
position for each stakeholder – Appendix B
3.2 Routes to Stakeholders
MANDATORY
What are the possible routes for reaching these stakeholder groups: SHAs and other
NHS organisations? Professional bodies? National voluntary sector organisations?
Patient representative groups?
Are there teams and individuals elsewhere within NHS Connecting for Health, or the
wider Department of Health Informatics Directorate (e.g. the Clinical Division) who
can advise on engaging with particular stakeholders, or who ‘own’ the relationship
with them?
Discuss options with your Communication & Stakeholder Engagement Manager.
4 Engagement Methods
4.1 Type of activity
MANDATORY
What are you going to do?
There are a wide range of methods for engaging with stakeholders. You may wish to
use more than one, depending on your objective. It will probably make sense to
approach target stakeholders in different ways, some as groups, others as
individuals, depending on their level of interest and influence. Below are some
examples of possible activities, although these are not exhaustive.
It is important to note that some of the activity types may be included in your
communication strategy.
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4.1.1 Giving Information
What will be the most appropriate techniques for raising awareness and
understanding of your programme or project? Examples may include:

mails and letters

egular email bulletins and newsletters

espoke events (e.g. launch events, large briefings)

hird party events and exhibitions (e.g. speaker or exhibition stand)

eaflets and written documents

edia

ebsite

VDs/podcasts/webinars

oolkits
4.1.2 Enabling participation and dialogue
Examples include:

egular meetings

onsultation exercise

ser panels

eminars/workshops and discussion groups about specific issues

ormal research – qualitative and quantitative

elephone interviews

sing existing forums and groups run within the NHS, voluntary sector etc

nline networks
4.1.3 Establishing partnerships
Examples include:

etting up specific advisory groups on a long or short-term basis
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
orking with SHAs, the Department of Health and others, and using their routes
to stakeholders

o-opting individuals from stakeholder groups onto programme governance
structure, e.g. programme board

etting out joint objectives with national voluntary organisations, royal colleges
and professional bodies

roducing joint literature on specific issues
5 Budget & Expenses
MANDATORY
What is the likely cost of delivering the stakeholder engagement strategy? Are there
the budget and other resources to deliver it?
What are the additional costs of designing, printing and delivering any new materials
to support delivery of the strategy?
Have all factors been considered that are likely to incur expenditure (see
Consultation Fees and Expenses Policy)?
Please be aware that, at time of publication, extensive restrictions were in place on
communication and stakeholder engagement spending.
6 Evaluation
MANDATORY
How are we going to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy? This might be a
combination of the following factors:

xtent to which the strategy’s objectives have been delivered

xtent to which stakeholders are aware of the issues

xtent to which stakeholders understand the issues

xtent to which stakeholder behaviour has changed as a result

xtent to which stakeholder engagement has contributed to successful
‘business outcomes’, e.g. successful delivery of a programme or project, or
effective stakeholder input into a key programme deliverable
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7 Risks and Issues
It is important to identify here risks and issues associated with your stakeholder
engagement strategy, their possible impact, and mitigating actions. A tabular format
may be used.
8 Tactical Plan
MANDATORY
Confirm here whether you have yet developed a tactical plan identifying what specific
stakeholder engagement activities will be delivered, when and by whom.
The tactical plan is likely to need to be reviewed and updated on a more regular
basis than the strategy. In most cases it will therefore be appropriate to maintain the
tactical plan separate document, rather than an appendix in the strategy.
In some cases it may be appropriate to include your tactical plan in the wider
programme or project activity plan.
9 Stakeholder Engagement Delivery
MANDATORY
Who will lead and/or manage delivery of the stakeholder engagement strategy on a
day-to-day basis?
Who else may be involved in supporting delivery of the strategy?
Is liaison required with other organisations, such as SHAs, the Department of Health
or other Government bodies? How will this be carried out and who will lead?
Are there any opportunities for cross-programme or cross-project work? Can the
Clinical Division support this activity?
10 Governance
MANDATORY
Governance for stakeholder engagement work is conducted on a programme-byprogramme basis to reflect individual programme or project governance
arrangements.
Who will sign off key decisions on stakeholder engagement – the programme board?
Who will be involved in reviewing and signing-off individual stakeholder engagement
activities?
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Appendix A - Stakeholder Map Template
High
A stakeholder with a low level
of interest, but a high level of
influence.
A stakeholder with a
significant interest in the
outcomes of the project and a
high level of influence. Can
help bring others on board.
Aim: Manage closely
Aim: Keep satisfied
Influence
A stakeholder with limited
interest in the
project/programme and low
levels of personal influence
A stakeholder with a high
level of interest but low level
of influence.
Aim: Monitor
Aim: Keep informed
Low
Low
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Interest
High
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Appendix B – Stakeholder List Template
Stakeholder
Organisation / type of
organisation
Relationship
Owner
Current Position
Target Position
Influence on
Programme/Project
Action Needed (to move
stakeholder to target position)
Ministers*
Department of Health
Director General,
Informatics
Interest not known
High influence
High interest
High influence
Support needed in
order to gain signoff for programme
Ministerial submission and
verbal briefing as required
BT*
Supplier
Commercial
Director
Interest not known
High influence
High interest
High influence
Will be expected to
deliver new
software, working
with its
subcontractors
Joint workshop with programme
team members and regular
meetings throughout programme
lifecycle
Intellect*
Supplier
representative body
Head of Industry
Liaison
High interest
Low influence
High interest
Low influence
Members may be
expected to comply
with new guidance
being prepared by
the programme
Presentation to Intellect
members
Royal College of GPs*
Clinician
representative body
Clinical lead for
programme,
working with
DHID Clinical
Division
Low interest
High influence
High interest
High influence
Criticism from
Royal College may
undermine
credibility of
programme and
lead other
stakeholders to
become more
hostile.
Co-opt representative onto
Programme Board, and ensure
RCGP members are included on
the programme’s advisory
group. Identify members who
may be prepared to act as
advocates for programme.
Examples have only been included for illustrative purposes and should be replaced as appropriate.
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