Stakeholder Analysis

Using a stakeholder approach to development requires an understanding and appreciation of the "stake" of all players in achieving success. In FAO's Socio-economic and Gender Analysis Programme (SEAGA), stakeholders are defined as all those who directly or indirectly stand to gain or lose given a particular development activity, programme or policy. Stakeholders can be individuals or groups of people. Stakeholder analysis helps to identify the most disadvantaged, such as subsistence farmers, landless and rural households, while also identifying the "stake" of governments, institutions, private sector groups, bi- and multilateral donors. Stakeholders could include: landless workers, subsistence farmers, commercial farmers, land holders and land owners, rural households, government staff, institutional staff and members, civil society organizations, grass root organizations, non-governmental staff, private sector, companies, financial institutions, sales representatives, and bi- and multilateral donors.

Key questions are asked at each level (macro, intermediate and field) to facilitate the identification of stakeholders. At each level of analysis, questions are framed such as:

  • Who are the stakeholders and what do they have at stake?
  • How can information be obtained about stakeholders?
  • What are the needs and constraints of stakeholder groups?
  • What resources do stakeholder groups control? and how?
  • Will planned change effect the use of such resources? and how?
  • What are the potential benefits of development activities for each stakeholder group?
  • How can each group of stakeholders help or hinder planned change?
  • Are there gender-linked differences among and within stakeholder groups?
  • How do you deal with conflict amongst stakeholder groups?

An important part of stakeholder analysis is improving the understanding of how people meet their basic needs: i.e. their livelihood strategies. Livelihoods consist of the capabilities, assets - both materials and social resources - and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide net benefits to other livelihoods locally and more widely, both now and in future, while not undermining the natural resource base. The sustainable livelihood approach addresses two key questions: What institutional arrangements enable some poor people to achieve sustainable, secure livelihoods, when others fail? What policies and strategies can support the poor?

Livelihood analysis provides information about women's and men's activities for subsistence and income, and their relative access to resources. The basic needs of women and men are similar, but how resources to meet such needs are controlled and allocated can often differ widely. Livelihood analysis also reveals the roles and relationships within the household as well as among households. Household decision-making patterns vary from one situation to another and may change in response to socio-economic factors. For instance, due to male rural to urban migration there may be major changes in gender roles in that a high percentage of women, children and the elderly constitute much of the active labour force in rural areas. These individuals may be under-resourced to meet the task of producing food because of their lack of agricultural inputs and other resources. It is important to take into account how different households are structured, how they make a living by participating in different production units, and how they interact with the community at large, and with other levels of the system as a whole.


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