The Place Leaders Association (PLA) commissioned communications consultancy Royce to conduct an extensive review of the available local and international stakeholder management publications, to provide a clear and concise overview of current successful stakeholder engagement and management strategies. Utilising this knowledge, Royce then compiled a Practical Stakeholder Engagement Manual, providing a detailed step-by-step approach to planning, implementing and evaluating stakeholder engagement to best practice standards.  Originally intended for the exclusive use of PLA members, this manual is now being made available to people interested in place making and place management.

The methodology entailed a comprehensive online search of databases, review of more than 1,000 academic articles and organisational websites, study of over 30 existing stakeholder management frameworks, and in-depth interviews with PLA members for contextual insight.
The research overview acknowledged a considerable gap between stakeholder management theory and practice. While theoretical articles and models were found in abundance, all referenced in the extensive attachments, there was a noticeable absence of applied stakeholder strategies and systems within the available literature. This drove the development of the Practical Stakeholder Engagement Manual as the primary output of the report.

The review component of the report addresses such elements as:
• A workable definition of stakeholder management for PLA members
• The principles, objectives and best practice standards of stakeholder management
• Risks and barriers to effective stakeholder management
• Factors and strategies integral to effective stakeholder management
• Models of stakeholder management implementation and evaluation which are most useful for PLA members.

The manual component of the report directly addresses the development as well as the implementation and ongoing management of various stakeholder engagement strategies. Ideally, the manual is for use at the start of a project, but can also be easily utilised during subsequent stages of a project’s lifecycle.
More specifically, it details:
• Stakeholder research, analysis and strategy development, including a critical path timeline
• Considerations regarding implementation, training, sustaining and evaluating strategies
• Comprehensive case studies of effective stakeholder management in action
• Tables of specific tools and their benefits and barriers to success
• Step-by-step instructions to personalising an effective stakeholder engagement program, in the form of a thorough workbook.

If you’re interested in accessing this research and the accompanying manual in its entirety (fee applies for non Members and Affiliate Members), or in finding out about other Place Leaders Association research reports relevant to your business or study, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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