APM/RICS guide focuses on stakeholder success
A joint publication aimed at lifting the lid on successful stakeholder engagement is set for release.
Key principles for leaders to successfully engage the people that can affect project success, the latest Stakeholder Guidance Note published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and supported by APM, will launch on 17th September.
The guide, written by Donnie MacNicol, Guy Giffin and Paul Mansell, is intended to provide advice to practitioners who encounter human challenges in their day to day work.
The final PDF will be available as a free download for APM members.
With human factors or non-technical issues identified as the most likely cause of project problems or failure, the guides authors present a number of real world examples to illustrate how to manage stakeholder relationships.
Stakeholder engagement should not be seen as a separate activity from real project management, the guide explains. It is vital for project teams, especially the senior members, to continuously develop their understanding of their stakeholders evolving objectives, interests, constraints and expectations, whether they are reasonable or not!
The publication was jointly commissioned by RICS and APM following a survey of 90 people, mainly practitioners, between May and July 2013. The survey revealed that 90% considered stakeholder management to be one of the top three critical factors for successful project delivery. However, 80% felt there insufficient resources being committed to develop the discipline.
These and other key findings including 10 principles for highly effective project leadership were discussed at the recent APM/RICS Project Leadership Conference, in London.
5 comments
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Thanks Patw. I am familiar with Lynda Bourne's work, which two of your links refer to, and Ed Freeman's site is indeed interesting although not directly connected to projects and programmes.I didn't say that there were no resources, merely that there were not enough; a conclusion that I have reached after many conversations with practitioners. You may choose to disagree...
Paul's name added to story. Apologies Paul!
There are quite a lot of resources available for people and organisations interested in stakeholder management. You just need to look. The Stakeholder Relationship Management Maturity (SRMM) model is a free download from: http://www.stakeholdermapping.com/ Ed Freeman, the father of stakeholder management has free materials at: http://redwardfreeman.com/ Gower has several books including Stakeholder Relationship Management: http://www.gowerpub.com/isbn/9780566088643
JamesMany thanks for posting this. I wanted to add one other name as there were 3 authors, myself, Guy and Paul Mansell.Donnie
Many thanks to Guy, Donnie and Paul for this well-needed document. I completely agree with the survey respondents that this area of project management is one of the top 3 most critical, and yet there are insufficient resources available to help the PPM community. It is with this in mind that the Oxford APM Chapter established the Stakeholder Focus Group, and applied for funding via the APM Volunteer Study/Research Fund. I am delighted, and grateful, that we have been deemed worthy of a grant allocation, so that we can carry on this important work.