Participation level:
- High (Stakeholders participate in decision)
Innovation level:
- Medium (Some new elements)
Facilitator skill level, and other support required:
- High (Specialist skills)
Can be used for:
- Engage community
- Discover community issues
- Communicate an issue
- Build alliances, consensus
- Medium (2-12 people)
Stakeholder interviews aim to elicit detailed information and opinions on an issue through wide-ranging discussion rather than specific questioning.
Stakeholder interviewsprovide a broad overview of the interviewees' opinions about a specific topic that may reveal hidden concerns or ideas that would not be expressed in response to a set number of specific questions.
- Useful for targeting key stakeholders who have specific knowledge about an issue.
- Provides opportunity to get understanding of concerns and issues of key stakeholders.
- Can be used to determine how best to communicate with the public.
- Can be used to determine the best members of consultative committees.
- Can be expensive.
- Can be time consuming.
- Interviewers must engender trust or risk negative response to the format.
- Requires skilled interviewers
Organizing Key Stakeholder Interview
How many people to organize?
Time required:
- Medium (6 weeks-6 months)
Cost:
- Medium (AUD$1,000-AUD$10,000)
- Select interviewees according to designated criteria (areas of expertise, representation of groups, complementary of skills for committees).
- Arrange times and places for interviewing. Better quality information will be forthcoming if the interviewee is in a familiar setting, so it may be easier for the interviewer to go to them.
- Ensure uninterrupted time for at least one hour.
- Check all equipment and take spare tapes, batteries, pens, etcetera to avoid any interruptions during the interview.
- Try to transcribe interview notes as soon as possible after the interview, while nuances, body language and asides are still in the interviewer's memory.
- Prepare a report, including the verbatim interviews, and offer copies to the interviewees.