How to Conduct a Stakeholder Analysis Before Your Next Research Project
How to Conduct a Stakeholder Analysis Before Your Next Research Project
5 minute readResearch that doesn't reach the people who can act on it is expensive data collection. A stakeholder analysis is how you identify who needs to be involved in, informed about, and engaged with your research before you design a single survey question. Organizations that skip this step often complete rigorous research that then sits in a report nobody reads. The analysis takes a few hours and dramatically improves research impact.
Stakeholder analysis is a foundational step in our research design process. For how to communicate findings to different stakeholder groups, see our post on research reports vs. insight briefs: which one should I use. For the full research design engagement, see our market research services.
We'll cover:
What a stakeholder analysis is and why it matters for research
How to identify your stakeholders
How to map them by influence and interest
How to tailor your research and communication to each group
Frequently asked questions
Table of Contents
- 1. What a stakeholder analysis is
- 2. How to identify your stakeholders
- 3. How to map by influence and interest
- 4. How to tailor research and communication
- 5. Frequently asked questions
- 6. Key tips
1. What a Stakeholder Analysis Is and Why It Matters for Research
A stakeholder analysis is a systematic process for identifying the people and groups who have a stake in your research: those who will be affected by the findings, those who have the power to act on them, and those who need to be engaged for the research to be credible and useful.
For research, the analysis answers three questions: Who needs to be involved in the research process itself (as participants, advisors, or collaborators)? Who needs to receive the findings in a format they can use? Who has the power to block or advance the changes the research might recommend?
According to the American Evaluation Association's principles for program evaluation, research and evaluation that fails to engage key stakeholders in design and dissemination produces findings that are less credible, less used, and less effective at driving change than stakeholder-engaged research. The engagement process is not optional infrastructure.
2. How to Identify Your Stakeholders
Start with four stakeholder categories:
Decision-makers: People with the authority to act on the research findings. In a nonprofit context: executive director, board members, funders. In a business context: leadership, product owners, department heads.
Implementers: People who will be responsible for acting on recommendations. Program staff, department managers, front-line teams. They need findings in a format that translates to operational decisions.
Affected parties: The people your research is about. Community members, customers, program participants, employees. Their voice in the research design is both an ethical requirement and a quality improvement.
Influencers: People who shape the environment in which decisions are made. Partner organizations, peer institutions, advocacy groups, media. They may not act directly on your findings but they influence the context in which others do.
Who to include in the analysis:
List every person or group that fits one of these four categories for your specific research project. Don't filter at this stage. A complete initial list is more useful than a curated one.
3. How to Map Stakeholders by Influence and Interest
The standard stakeholder mapping framework places stakeholders on a two-axis grid: influence (their ability to affect the research or act on its findings) and interest (how much they care about the research topic and outcomes).
| Quadrant | High interest / High influence | Low interest / High influence |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement approach | Manage closely: involve in design, share preliminary findings, co-create dissemination | Keep satisfied: brief regularly, address concerns proactively |
| High interest / Low influence | Keep informed: share findings in accessible formats, create feedback channels | Monitor: minimal engagement unless their interest increases |
The high-interest, high-influence quadrant deserves the most time and intentionality. These are the stakeholders who can use your findings to produce change and who care enough to do so. Involve them early and often.
Research designed without stakeholder input is research designed for the researcher. Research designed with stakeholder input is research designed to produce change.
4. How to Tailor Your Research and Communication to Each Stakeholder Group
In the research design phase:
Consult with high-influence, high-interest stakeholders when forming your research questions. Their priorities should inform what you measure and how. This doesn't mean letting stakeholders control the research agenda; it means ensuring the research agenda serves the decisions they actually need to make.
In the data collection phase:
Affected parties should have a voice in how data is collected from them. Community members and program participants may have strong preferences about data collection methods (surveys vs. interviews, in-person vs. digital) that affect both their willingness to participate and the quality of data they provide.
In the dissemination phase:
Different stakeholders need different deliverable formats. Decision-makers often need a one-page executive summary with clear recommendations. Implementers need practical guidance on how to act on findings. Community members and affected parties deserve access to findings in accessible language, often through community presentations.
For the full deliverable format decision, see our post on research reports vs. insight briefs: which one to use.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a stakeholder analysis take?
For a focused research project, a stakeholder analysis takes two to four hours: listing stakeholders, mapping them on the influence/interest grid, and documenting engagement approaches. For larger, more complex research initiatives, a stakeholder engagement planning process may take several weeks, particularly when it involves community advisory groups or partner organization consultations.
What if key stakeholders don't want to engage with the research?
Understand why. Resistance to research engagement is often grounded in past experiences: research that didn't produce change, findings that were used in ways that harmed the community, or processes that felt extractive rather than collaborative. Addressing these concerns honestly and demonstrating commitment to actionable research is more effective than simply pushing for engagement.
Should stakeholders be involved in data analysis?
Participatory analysis, where stakeholders help interpret preliminary findings, produces research that is more credible to those stakeholders and more likely to be acted on. The tradeoff is time and process complexity. For high-stakes research on topics where community trust is essential, participatory analysis is worth the investment.
Key Tips
Complete the stakeholder analysis before designing any data collection.
Include affected parties (the people research is about) as stakeholders, not just data sources.
Prioritize your highest-influence, highest-interest stakeholders for deep engagement.
Match your deliverable formats to each stakeholder group's decision-making needs.
Document resistance to engagement and address it honestly rather than pushing past it.
How Praxia Insights can help
At Praxia Insights, we design and run research that gets to the real answers. Whether you need prototype testing, a stakeholder analysis, or a full research plan, we're here for it.
