Putting stakeholder needs at the centre: SHEAR learnings

This brief explores key learning from across the SHEAR programme related to stakeholder engagement. Key stakeholders, including at-risk populations, need to be at the centre of research prioritization, design and delivery. Putting the needs of stakeholders at the centre is critical to achieving programme objectives, and to ensuring long-term sustainability.

Understanding who stakeholders are is critical to identifying their needs and can often be complex. The Science for Humanitarian Emergencies and Resilience (SHEAR) programme research teams highlighted the importance of considering all stakeholders in a context or system, noting that there may be stakeholders who are not visible in the initial stages of conceptualizing a project. Stakeholder and institutional mapping are key processes in understanding who all the actors in a system are, their roles and relationships to each other, and who needs to be included. SHEAR teams recommended early prioritization of stakeholder mapping, to enable a comprehensive understanding of critical actors.