What is a stakeholder? And more specific: what is a stakeholder in education?

A stakeholder: A person, group or organization that has interest or concern in an organization.

Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organization’s actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources.

“In education, the term stakeholder typically refers to anyone who is invested in the welfare and success of a school and its students, including administrators, teachers, staff members, parents, families, community members, local business leaders, and elected officials such as school board members, city councillors, and state representatives.

Stakeholders may also be collective entities, such as local businesses, organizations, support groups, committees, media outlets, and cultural institutions, in addition to organizations that represent specific groups, such as teachers unions, parent-teacher organizations, and associations representing superintendents, principals, school boards, or teachers in specific academic disciplines. In one word, stakeholders have a “stake” (participation) in the school and its students, meaning that they have personal, professional, civic, or financial interest or concern. Generally speaking, the use of stakeholder in public education is based on the recognition that schools, as public institutions supported by state and local tax revenues, are not only part of and responsible to the communities they serve, but they are also obligated to involve the broader community in important decisions related to the governance, operation, or improvement of the school.” (The GLOSSARY OF EDUCATION REFORM is a comprehensive online resource that describes widely used school-improvement terms, concepts, and strategies for journalists, parents, and community members.)

Based on the text above the coaching of NEETs and the way of working with this vulnerable group is eminently an activity in which stakeholders can/must play a role. Developing a network of stakeholders is important to gain an understanding of institutions, persons and groups to the initiating organization.

The idea of a “stakeholder” intersects with many school-reform concepts and strategies—such as leadership teams, shared leadership, and voice—that generally seek to expand the number of people involved in making important decisions related to a school’s organization, operation, and academics. For example, shared leadership entails the creation of leadership roles and decision-making opportunities for teachers, staff members, students, parents, and community members, while voice refers the degree to which schools include and act upon the values, opinions, beliefs, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds of the people in their community. Stakeholders may participate on a leadership team, take on leadership responsibilities in a school, or give “voice” to their ideas, perspectives, and opinions during community forums or school-board meetings, for example.

Here it is important to distinguish between stakeholders that are essential to an educational organization and stakeholders who play only a small role.

So an organization has to decide: who are the important stakeholders for us, what are they going to do, how are they are going to do that and how do we keep them involved?

Some action must be taken in increasing the involvement of stakeholders and the establishment of a regular consultation structure to maintain the stakeholder’s involvement.

1. Determine an approach.
2. Look for good practices.
3. Find links to existing arrangements.
4. Inventory internships in companies.
5. Approach the relevant municipal and regional institutions to get and maintain support.
6. Make someone responsible for direction of these activities.
7. Make someone responsible for reporting.

Stakeholder Analysis

As the term ‘stakeholder analysis’ already says, you make a picture of all stakeholders around your organization, looking into their interests, and asking in what way they can help and how do we keep them involved. On the internet you can find a lot of Analysing Instruments. After this process of analysing you have to decide: who are the important stakeholders, what are they going to do, how are they are going to do that and how do we keep them involved?

Some action must be taken in increasing the involvement of stakeholders and the establishment of a regular consultation structure to maintain the stakeholder’s involvement.

1. Determine an approach.
2. Look for good practices.
3. Find links to existing arrangements.
4. Inventory internships in companies.
5. Approach the relevant municipal and regional institutions to get and maintain support.
6. Make someone responsible for direction of these activities.
7. Make someone responsible for reporting.

Stakeholder mapping in 4 steps

1. Define your stakeholders
2. Analyse stakeholders by impact and influence
3. Plan Manage stakeholder communications and reporting
4. Engage with your stakeholders

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