Stakeholder engagement and the work of SEI: An empirical study

The document evaluates SEI's use of stakeholder engagement, distinguishing between the mere use of participatory methods and a comprehensive participatory approach. Through case studies in East Africa, Vietnam, and the UK, it argues that effective engagement requires careful planning, cultural sensitivity, and a clear purpose to avoid 'extractive' research. The authors recommend that SEI adopt institute-wide guiding principles, invest in facilitation training, and create internal mechanisms for sharing expertise to move from being a practitioner of participation to a theoretical contributor in the field.

• SEI's stakeholder engagement varies across a continuum, ranging from projects that use specific participatory approaches as part of their core design to those that use participatory methodologies in an 'intuitive' or ad hoc manner without a conscious underlying philosophy.
• There is a critical distinction between using participatory methods to perform research and conducting truly participatory research; the former can be 'extractive' if it lacks a collaborative worldview or fails to enable participants to improve their own lives.
• Effective stakeholder engagement is not spontaneous but requires rigorous planning regarding participant identification, timing, and modes of engagement, and it is often time-consuming and iterative.
• A successful participatory process consists of three integrated components: inclusive methods and tools, a flexible process, and a set of guiding principles; SEI practitioners often over-emphasize methods while neglecting process and principles.
• In East Africa, the ENABLE project demonstrated that combining a structured participatory process with high-level political timing can lead to rapid policy impact, with workshop recommendations adopted by East African Community (EAC) ministers and heads of state within 18 days.
• A case study in Vietnam showed that while participatory approaches can improve transparency and give affected peoples a voice in resettlement details (such as house design and location), they may fail to prevent long-term negative outcomes if the broader development project is flawed.
• The use of Participatory GIS (GIS-P) in York, UK, proved effective in bridging the gap between technical expert models and local knowledge, resulting in a public-knowledge-derived map that was officially declared the City of York's Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).
• Facilitation is a core requirement for successful engagement; a good facilitator must build trust, encourage marginalized voices, and remain open about their mandate without attempting to 'facipulate' or manage the discussion toward a pre-determined result.
• To improve institutional effectiveness, SEI should establish shared institute-wide principles for stakeholder engagement, create a core group of skilled practitioners for internal mentoring, and develop a dedicated intranet section for sharing best practices.

APA

Forrester, J., Swartling, Å. G., & Lonsdale, K. (2008). Stakeholder engagement and the work of SEI: An empirical study. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Policy-institutions/stakeholder_engagement_workof_sei.pdf

Chicago

Forrester, John, Åsa Gerger Swartling, and Kate Lonsdale. Stakeholder engagement and the work of SEI: An empirical study. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2008. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Policy-institutions/stakeholder_engagement_workof_sei.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Forrester |first1=John |last2=Swartling |first2=Åsa Gerger |last3=Lonsdale |first3=Kate |title=Stakeholder engagement and the work of SEI: An empirical study |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2008 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Policy-institutions/stakeholder_engagement_workof_sei.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{forrester2008stakeholder, author = {Forrester, John and Swartling, Åsa Gerger and Lonsdale, Kate}, title = {{Stakeholder engagement and the work of SEI: An empirical study}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2008}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Policy-institutions/stakeholder_engagement_workof_sei.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }