Reflection on Stakeholder Engagement in Climate Resilience Projects
One of the most effective strategies for stakeholder identification and mapping is the Power–Interest (or Power–Benefit) Matrix, combined with community consultations, focus group discussions, and stakeholder interviews. These tools help reveal not only who holds decision-making authority, but also who is most affected by project outcomes — especially marginalized groups such as women, youth, pastoralists, and informal workers. Participatory mapping exercises are particularly valuable because they surface informal actors and power dynamics that may not appear in formal project documents.
Strong negotiation and communication skills are essential for managing conflicting interests among stakeholders. Active listening, empathy, transparent information sharing, and interest-based negotiation allow actors to move from positional disagreements toward shared goals, such as community resilience and sustainability. These skills help build trust, reduce conflict, and enable compromise between government agencies, NGOs, donors, and communities.
To ensure collaboration remains inclusive and sustainable, best practices include continuous engagement (not one-off consultations), inclusive decision-making spaces, community feedback mechanisms, gender and youth representation, and local capacity building. In my community in Somalia, for example, climate adaptation projects supported by NGOs and local authorities use community dialogue forums and youth-led committees to co-design water management and drought resilience initiatives. This approach strengthens ownership, improves implementation, and ensures long-term sustainability by embedding solutions within local institutions and social structures.