Stakeholder Analysis
We have identified the different stakeholders of the community forest and have been introduced to them by our community contact, Cathy. We will be emailing and skyping with each of these stakeholders individually and interviewing them with questions including their values and uses the community forest, the conflicts they have encountered with other stakeholders, and the concerns they have with the management of the forest. During our visit to Williams Lake, we have considered hosting focus groups with different groups to create conversations in a more informal and comfortable way. A list of stakeholders we have identified include, but are not limited to:
- Board of Directors (including representatives of the government and the Alex Fraser Research Forest)
- Standing Committee (including representatives of the Indian band and community members from surrounding regions)
- Mountain bikers and clubs
- Bill Stafford and cattle ranching
- Foresters and Woodlots
- Participants of general recreation (including hiking/rock climbing/mudbogging/ATVs)
To apply a more theoretical framework to our project, we will need to manage how we prioritize the stakeholders. To do this, we can use the Mendelow Framework to help determine who we will need to work with the most and will need us to do more work, versus who only needs to be kept satisfied.
Classifying Stakeholders
Active vs Passive
Mahoney (1994) classified stakeholders by those who are active and those who are passive. For example, we have found some members on the steering committee that are actively working on the Community Forest of Williams Lake (active), others who own land in the Community Forest (passive), and others that do not have a stake in the Flat Rock block (passive). Passive stakeholders will not be participating in the policy-making, but we will need to consider their position and needs as they do partake in the long term discussions surrounding the community forest as a whole.
External vs Internal
It will also be important to separate stakeholder needs from internal and external in our report. For example, people using the trails for recreational use (ATVs, mountain bikes etc), are a large issue in the access plan, especially as we are unable to consult with them. The internal stakeholders will be the members of the Williams Lake Community Forest board and steering committee.