Determine stakeholders

Who are the people involved?

Do you want to determine the value of an intervention? If so, it is necessary to first clearly identify who exactly is involved. Map out what the selected intervention can mean for the people involved, and what role they can play in the implementation.

Different people are involved in carrying out and supporting the work process. This may include people who directly provide or receive care. It may also include managers or support services. Each of these parties has their own interests, expectations, and conditions, and they differ in their level of involvement.

There are several ways to distinguish between stakeholders.

Internal and external

First, distinguish between internal and external stakeholders:

• Internal stakeholders are located within the organisation where the intervention will be used, such as the healthcare professional, innovation advisor or ICT manager.
• External stakeholders are located outside the organisation. These include, for example, the technology supplier, government institutions, care offices, and insurers.

Second, distinguish between different levels of involvement:

• Primary end users: they are directly involved or directly experience the consequences of changes in the work process (for example, clients or people receiving care and healthcare professionals).
• Secondary end users: they are indirectly involved, influence, or experience how changes in the work process take place (for example, team leaders).
• Tertiary end users: they are responsible for facilitating and supporting these processes. They approach changes from an organisational perspective (for example, policy officers).

By taking all these different groups and their specific needs and interests into account from the start, you increase the likelihood of identifying and measuring the right effects in the subsequent steps.

How do you map stakeholders?

Using relevant tools, you can determine which stakeholders need to be involved and in what manner. There are different methods to categorise stakeholders based on their level of influence and interest. For example, you can use a “circle of influence” or create a table that includes the elements that are important for your specific situation.