When managing animplementing change, various people will be affected by the process. Some peoplewill also have an influence and their part to play in the realisation of theproject. Having the support of all stakeholders is key and knowing who they arebefore starting the project is vital. It is important to identify stakeholdersbut even more to consider their interest and power levels regarding the projectitself.  The Stakeholder Powerand Interest Mapping (Bryson, 2004) tells us there are four types ofstakeholders: High power/high interest – these are the most important stakeholders.

They should be kept informed and close to the project as much as possible. High power/low interest – since their power over the project is high and can influence its progress, these stakeholders need to be kept satisfied. However, having a low interest means that their influence is likely to be kept to a minimum Low power/high interest these stakeholders can offer support in the project which means they should be kept informed of the progress.

Low power/low interest – these stakeholders are easily monitored since they cannot influence your project and are unlikely to be involved.This tool is extremelyuseful to focus on the right people with the correct amount of energy ad time.Communication is important for all stakeholders as it will maintain theirengagement throughout the process of change. However, it is also necessary tobe strategic and know who is more likely to support and positively influencethe project so that we spend the appropriate amount of effort with the relevantpeople.

 Making informative decisions is vital insucceeding at a task. Gathering information from the relevant people will makea change plan run more smoothly. This is what the Stakeholder Salience model(Mitchell, 1997) sets to help doing.This model considerthree parameters: power, legitimacy and urgency. By defining their power (i.ehow muh influence they have over decisions), how much authority and involvementthey have and finally the time constraints they might impose, the mostimportant stakeholder will naturally appear. If this model only highlight the stakeholder to lookout for, organisation following this model will still need to consider otherstakeholders.

It is recommended to monitor ‘dominant’ stakeholders, those whohave a high power and legitimacy vut low urgency over the project.