What are stakeholders?
Stakeholders are individuals or groups that may have a vested interest in the outcome of an issue.
When we are identifying stakeholders, we need to think, who is affected by this issue? It’s important to think of the issue from many different angles and be exhaustive in our list of possible stakeholders.
For example...
...if you are researching a community issue of installing restrooms in a public park. Stakeholders might include:
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• Visitors to the park • Local businesses • Law enforcement • Park service or governing body • Utilities department |
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All these stakeholders could be affected by the outcome of this issue.
Why research stakeholders?
Understanding your stakeholders' views, values, mission, goals and objectives, will help you build a case for the issue you are investigating.
For example...
...you may want to look for:
in:
Remember, you are putting together the pieces of the puzzle to make a strong case in the issue you are researching.
Check out these resources:
West Virginia Newspaper Portal - A guide to the West Virginia Newspapers portal powered by WVU Potomac State College and information on accessing other WV newspapers.
Pew Online Research Center - "Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions."
SBA Small Business Data and Trends - The U.S. Small Business Administration collects consumer data geared toward small business owners but can be helpful in learning consumer demographics and behaviors when researching an issue.
Mintel - Consumer market research reports that focus on consumer attitudes, trend information, and market data in 14 consumer categories
Academic Search Complete - Offers a good starting point for research on nearly any topic, covering most areas of academic study and containing full text for 5,500 periodicals, including 4,600 peer-reviewed publications. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,500 journals.
