Strategy Survival Guide

Identifying key stakeholders and their issues
In Practice: SU Fisheries Project
Before the Fisheries project was launched the team thought about how to identify and engage
stakeholders with the project.
Member of the team seconded from fisheries departments were able to identify key stakeholders and
groups of stakeholders and developed a contacts database as a central record of their details.
The process of engaging with stakeholders and understanding their issues was designed to include a
number of elements:
• a tour of UK fishing ports
• a written consultation process
• a stakeholder event
• the formation of a number of working groups to support the work of the team.
It was planned as an open, transparent process employing formal and informal contacts and a mixture of
standard and original tools for structuring the interaction with stakeholders. Where possible, material was
published on the Strategy Unit website to allow interested parties to follow the work of the team.
Once the project was launched, team members embarked on a tour of UK fishing ports to talk to people
involved in the industry. These meetings were opportunities to gather data and get an understanding of
the issues as identified by people closest to them. The personal connections made in these meetings
meant that the project was viewed positively by key stakeholders and allowed for follow-up contact to
request information and test ideas.
Strategy Survival Guide – Strategy Skills
Page 78