Why practice stakeholder mapping?
In order to co-design effective solutions, you need to know who you should be co-designing with. Stakeholder engagement is crucial to inclusive, human-centred project planning and stakeholder mapping is a critical step to ensure that you capture a diversity of perspectives and engage with all of the people who will be involved with or affected by a project.
Stakeholder mapping helps you see who will be most impacted by a project so you can focus on engaging them. Vulnerable groups are sometimes excluded from key conversations, despite the fact that they are most impacted by a project. Stakeholder mapping reminds and encourages you to seek out these groups so you can synthesize insights about human needs to inform and prioritize action.
Involving stakeholders as collaborators enables you to leverage a wide range of creativity and lived-experiences, all while building buy-in. Talking to stakeholders, rather than assuming what they need, creates understanding, empathy, and gives you invaluable insights.
Maintaining stakeholder engagement throughout the project increases the likelihood of success. Stakeholder feedback generates actionable goals that empower you to pivot when necessary as you move toward an effective solution.