Methods for stakeholder engagement
A wide range of methods that can be used for stakeholder consultation and engagement are described on the FOR-LEARN website of the Joint Research Centre of the EU, which also gives useful guidelines for selecting and implementing different methods.
Some of the most widely used approaches are summarised below.
| Method | Explanation | Pros and cons |
| Questionnaire | Formalised set of questions sent out (or made available) to respondents - e.g. via the post, telephone or internet. | Limits active involvement of stakeholders to responding to questions and suggestions. Little opportunity for dialogue. Enables access to large samples of individuals. |
| Delphi surveys | Reiterative questionnaire with feedback loop. Participants give initial responses to questions individually. Survey is then reiterated, with participants receiving summary of responses from previous round; on 2nd and subsequent iteration participants can change views and justify their own responses. | Reiterative nature of survey, and opportunity to give and receive feedback provides basis for indirect dialogue between participants, and thus encourages changes of mind in response to argumentation. Can be time-consuming,and participants may falsely gravitate to a consensus they don't truly agree with. |
| Focus groups | Small, invited groups of individuals, usually selected to represent specific stakeholder groups, who meet once (or a few times( at the behest of the organiser. Discussion is partially structured, with particupants also able to debate and respond to open-ended questions. | Enables active and wide-ranging discussion, which allows participants to have formative role in assessment. Can be time-consuming, and difficulties arise in ensuring fair representation of stakeholder groups, and balanced debate amongst participants, |
| Citizens' panels | Relatively large, demographically representative panels of citizens, who are surveyed regularly (and may meet) to elicit advice on issues of public concern. | Provides sustained dialogue with a large group of individuals, but difficulties arise in ensuring representivity and maintaining membership. May also be costly to sustain. |
| Stakeholder partnerships | Long-standing groups of individuals, representing major stakeholder groups, who meet on a relatively frequent basis to discuss and advise on public policy issues. | Permanency of groups helps build deeper insight and truyst and give contnuity of stakeholder input. Members may become detached from stakeholders they represent, and inequalities within the group may become permanently established, biasing the process. Costly to sustain. |
Further information is available in the publications listed below.
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