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Stakeholders are individuals or groups who have an interest in a project and can influence its outcome. They may support or resist changes that are part of improvement. Identifying stakeholders who can affect your project at an early stage is important so these relationships can be developed to help obtain buy-in and participation. Understanding resistors’ concerns early on may help prevent conflict and barriers as the project evolves.

Stakeholder analysis is a dynamic process that is recommended to be started at the beginning of a project and revisited as the project evolves. Common stakeholders in healthcare improvement include, but are not limited to: patients, clinicians, managers, executives, clinical assistants and payers.

Key Steps

• Brainstorm a list of potential stakeholders as a team
• Map out stakeholders and strategize how they are involved and/or affected by the project
• Engage stakeholders to continuously refine project

Resources to Get Started

Read

(includes a helpful section on stakeholder analysis)

Use

– This webpage outlines step by step how to conduct a stakeholder analysis with your team using sticky notes Network Diagram Template – Also known as a snowflake diagram; this tool maps out different stakeholders based on their affiliation and level of influence Power-Interest Matrix Template – Also known as an influence-interest; this tool is a 2X2 diagram that maps out the stakeholder’s political interest in the QI problem on the y-axis and the stakeholder’s organizational power or control over the system on x-axis RACI Chart – This tool helps clarify who does what by mapping responsibilities, tasks, or deliverables to specific roles and can be especially useful for cross-functional teams and projects that involve multiple departments. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed and are the categories used to classify each stakeholder.Â

Related QI Concepts

• Communication Plan – It is helpful to determine a plan on how to communicate with your stakeholders most effectively once identified
• Partnering with Patients & Families – Patients and families offer invaluable insight about their healthcare experience so it is ideal to partner with them if possible.  
• Process Mapping – Mapping out your process can help identify stakeholders who are instrumental in executing your QI project
• Project Team Composition – The composition of your team is critical and can determine the success of your improvement effort. Including team members representing different perspectives and areas of expertise increases the likelihood of project success.