Stakeholder Engagement

Effective stakeholder engagement is critical to developing policies, strategies and projects that are informed by evidence, practical to implement and supported by those who are affected by them.

Whether gathering insights to inform decision making, testing potential solutions, or building support for change, stakeholder engagement helps ensure that all perspectives have been considered and key risks and opportunities have been identified. This is critical for ensuring that policies and strategies achieve desired outcomes.

At NineSquared, we help clients to design and deliver stakeholder engagement programs that generate robust evidence and build alignment amongst stakeholders and decision makers. Our team has extensive experience consulting with government agencies, industry groups, community groups and senior executives across a range of sectors.

What we do

Our stakeholder engagement specialists help clients design and deliver engagement programs that inform decision-making and support successful implementation.

Our stakeholder engagement services generally fall into two categories:

Stakeholder consultation and evidence gathering
Consensus building and stakeholder alignment

Stakeholder consultation and evidence gathering

We design and deliver structured engagement processes that help clients develop a clear understanding of stakeholder perspectives and build an evidence base to support decision making.

Our approach typically includes:

Understanding the purpose of the engagement – we work with clients to define the decisions being informed, the information required and the outcomes that the engagement process needs to achieve.
Stakeholder identification and analysis – we identify key stakeholders, understand their interests and influence, and determine how to best engage them.
Engagement planning – We develop tailored Stakeholder Engagement Plans that identify who should be consulted, when, and the most effective engagement method and key questions.
Facilitation and consultation – We conduct structured and semi-structured interviews, workshops or other forums to gather insights and test ideas.
Reporting – We synthesise stakeholder feedback into practical findings, identifying key themes, areas of consensus, emerging issues, risks and opportunities to support decision-making. This might take the form of a consultation findings report.

Consensus building and stakeholder alignment

Many projects require more than consultation to gather evidence. They require support, alignment and buy-in from decision makers and stakeholders throughout the process to ensure successful delivery.

We work closely with senior decision makers through steering committees, project working groups, and senior leadership teams to support informed decision making and build confidence in project outcomes.

Our team helps clients to:

Reach consensus around complex issues and competing priorities.
Facilitate discussions between stakeholders with different perspectives.
Present complex technical information in a clear and accessible way.
Ensure decision makers receive the right information at the right level of detail.
Maintain stakeholder confidence and momentum throughout project delivery.

Contact one of our experienced stakeholder engagement specialists to discuss how we can help you.