CJL Convenes Collaborative Learning Discussion on Stakeholder Analysis in Corrupt Contexts

CJL recently hosted an expert gathering to exchange insights into the nuances of conducting stakeholder analysis to inform anti-corruption programming. The discussion brought together a group of anti-corruption and governance experts from anti-corruption NGOs, bi-lateral donors, academia, and public sector practitioners. Stakeholder analysis can include any effort – formal or informal – used to understand which actors or institutions are key to the existing system or issue relevant for the program. Often stakeholder analysis is embedded within broader analytical processes, such as political economy analysis (PEA). In this conversation, we posed a few questions we’re puzzling over:

• What information in stakeholder analysis is essential versus just interesting? On what basis have others determined what information categories to cut or include in their tools?

• How has information from stakeholder analysis concretely been used to inform programmatic decisions or fed into broader context analysis? What have people struggled with in using the stakeholder analysis information?

• What are the significant challenges to gathering information about stakeholders on and in systems of corruption? How can approaches be adjusted?

Facilitated by CJL’s co-directors, this event opened up space for experts to drill down into the foundational components to consider when designing and implementing stakeholder analysis in corrupt settings. Some of the richest exchanges involved participants dissecting their own stakeholder analysis tools, then reflecting on how the overarching programmatic purpose of their analysis influences the stakeholder analysis process design. We heard thoughtful insights into what types of information people prioritize gathering about the stakeholders, who to include in the analysis to get a sufficiently complete picture, what purposes these analyses serve, and at a more practical level, how they undertake the stakeholder analysis in corrupt settings.

At CJL, we remain convinced of the value in encouraging exchanges over nascent but growing areas of anti-corruption practice, such as work that builds more complex ‘systems’ understandings of corrupt contexts.  Keep an eye out for future Thinking Together gatherings over the next several months on related topics, and subscribe to our Blog to keep up to date on our work. If you’d like to be included in future events, be in touch!