Stakeholder involvement

Stakeholder involvement describes how different interested and affected parties participate in policymaking and policy implementation. Appropriate stakeholder involvement can play an important role in coherent policy making and implementation. To better understand how stakeholder involvement can affect policy coherence, consider the following aspects:

Adequate and effective involvement

The involvement of stakeholders at various stages in the policy process can enable more robust, better-informed policies, and more effective implementation. Adequate and effective stakeholder participation provides a more holistic perspective on a policy issue which in turn can enable more coherent policy decisions.

Guiding questions:

• Are stakeholders involved at a geographical scale relevant to the policy issue (for example, stakeholders from different countries for transboundary issues)?
• Are the involved stakeholders representative, for example of relevant sectors, societal interests and governance levels? Is the representation balanced?
• Are some stakeholders more powerful than others? For example, do some stakeholders have more access to resources or specialized knowledge than others?
• Are stakeholder involvement processes informal or formalized, for example through partnerships, protocols and guidelines?
• Is the involvement of stakeholders transparent?
• Is the level of involvement adequate to support efficient and informed decision-making and policy implementation?
• Are there mechanisms to deal with conflicting interests?
• How does the allocation of resources for inclusive processes compare to the outcomes of the policy process? Is the resource use proportionate?
• Do participants consider the processes for participation and subsequent decision-making as fair and legitimate?
• Can any other potential issues or challenges regarding stakeholder involvement be identified?