The first step in achieving meaningful public involvement in project development involves identifying the individuals and groups likely to be affected by the project, those who have a “stake” in its outcome. While this stakeholder group includes owners of property adjacent to the various alignments, it also includes users of the facility, representatives of jurisdictions in which the alternatives are located, transportation service providers in the area, and a wide range of interest groups. Stakeholders are people likely to support the project as well as those likely to oppose it. Representatives of the sponsoring agency are also considered stakeholders – they definitely have a stake in its outcome!
A typical list of stakeholders might include:
To identify potential project stakeholders, it is useful to gather together people within the sponsoring agency familiar with the project area and with the transportation needs. They can identify potential issues that could be raised by a project in the area, the groups likely to be affected by those issues, key people in each group, the type of impacts that might be expected, and the significance of that impact on the group.
Identifying stakeholders is sometimes difficult. Knowledge of local customs and local “powers” can sometimes be critical. Strong or influential community leaders may not always be elected or appointed officials. A lesson learned by staff with Connecticut DOT on one project was that the local elected official (town selectman), presumed to be the key local individual, was in actuality not the most influential or important community member to include. Clearly, knowledge and understanding of the local community is a critical success factor in identifying stakeholders.
Source: NCHRP Report 480: A Guide to Best Practices for Achieving Context Sensitive Solutions p. 24
Published: 2002
