Models for stakeholder relationship management at socially controversial facilities

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement is a key but often misunderstood performance indicator of project success in controversial projects. Construction projects, power production, medical research, and waste disposal are examples of such large-scale projects. Many of these are critical assets and yet are often at risk of being shut down due to key stakeholder disengagement. It is a tragedy when a successful and needed project is terminated not because of technical, economic, or safety issues but due to a lack of proper stakeholder engagement. At a broad level it is generally understood that stakeholder relationship management is important, but how important and what must be done to ensure appropriate stakeholder engagement remains unclear. My research addresses this chronic problem using a newly developed system dynamics model that better illustrates complex relationships, how they change over time, and what must be done to gather enough support to ensure project success. To firmly root the system dynamics model, interviews were done at an unnamed nuclear power plant (NPP) in the United States. The strengths and weaknesses of the NPP's public outreach efforts were enumerated along with the strengths and weaknesses of the model itself. Ultimately, the model was shown to be plausibly useful to individuals responsible for success in managing stakeholder relationship on controversial projects.