Stakeholder Analysis: A Vital Tool for Strategic Managers

The recognition of the key role played by stakeholders in the determination of policy, its implementation, and outcomes has made stakeholder analysis a vital tool for strategic managers. The term stakeholder analysis encompasses a range of different methodologies for analyzing stakeholder interests and is not a single tool—a fact that has led to some confusion about what it is and how one does it. The purpose of this note is to help clarify the notion of stakeholder analysis by exploring a series of alternative methods, their advantages and potential limitations. A common analytic methodology for use by the IPC team and developing country managers in reconnaissance and other diagnostic activities will also be suggested.