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10 key principles of stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder engagement and stakeholder management are arguably the most important ingredients for successful project delivery, and yet are often regarded as a fringe activity or one that can be outsourced to business-as-usual functions. Project managers depend on people to respond to the outputs and benefits that they deliver. People will only respond if they are engaged.

The phrase “stakeholder management" implies that these people can be made to respond positively to a project, but the truth is that a project manager frequently has no formal power of authority and therefore has to rely on engagement to achieve his/her objectives.

The '10 Key Principles’ that was developed out of a joint project between the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Association of Project Management (APM). 

1) Communicate

Before aiming to engage and influence stakeholders, it’s crucial to seek to understand the people you will be working with and relying on throughout the phases of the project lifecycle. Sharing information with stakeholders is important, but it is equally important to first gather information about your stakeholders.

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2) Consult, early and often

A project, particularly in the early stages, may be unclear to its stakeholders for example, in terms of purpose, scope, risks and approach.  Early, then regular consultation is essential to ensure that requirements are agreed and a delivery solution is negotiated that is acceptable to the majority of stakeholders.

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3) Remember, they’re only human

Accept that humans do not always behave in a rational, reasonable, consistent or predictable way and operate with an awareness of human feelings and potential personal agendas. By understanding the root cause of stakeholder behaviour, you can assess if there is a better way to work together to maintain a productive relationship.

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5) Relationships are key

Developing relationships results in increased trust. And where there is trust, people work together more easily and effectively. Investing effort in identifying and building stakeholder relationships can increase confidence across the project environment, minimise uncertainty, and speed problem solving and decision-making.

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6) Simple, but not easy

Over and above conventional planning, using foresight to anticipate hazards, and taking simple and timely actions with stakeholders can significantly improve project delivery. Although this principle is self-evident, in practice is still only rarely done very well.

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8) Compromise

The initial step is to establish the most acceptable baseline across a set of stakeholders' diverging expectations and priorities. Assess the relative importance of all stakeholders to establish a weighted hierarchy against the project requirements and agreed by the project Sponsor.

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9) Understand what success is

Project success means different things to different people and you need to establish what your stakeholder community perceives success to be for them in the context of project delivery.

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10) Take responsibility

Stakeholder engagement is not the job of one member of the project team. It’s the responsibility of everyone to understand their role and to follow the right approach to communication and engagement. Good project governance requires providing clarity about stakeholder engagement roles and responsibilities and what is expected of people involved in the project.

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About the 10 Key Principles

The ’10 Key Principles’ structure is based on the RICS (Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors) Guidance Note “Stakeholder Engagement” 1st edition, which was commissioned jointly with the APM and published in 2014. The SEFG adopted the 10 Principles as a framework.

Stakeholder Engagement 1st Edition Guidance 2014

Stakeholder Engagement Focus Group (SEFG)

The Stakeholder Engagement Focus Group (SEFG) is part of the APM People Interest Network.  Our stakeholder engagement content has been developed by the SEFG and the team voluntarily manages ongoing development and curation of resources and information.

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