Hold stakeholder interviews now or pay later

Public Participation Guide: Stakeholder Interviews | US EPA

I have never conducted a stakeholder interview before, so I took it upon myself to become familiar with what stakeholder interviews are, the uses and how to conduct a good stakeholder interview.

I found a great example which helped me write the questions I initally proposed to ask:

UXT-Usability-Test-Plan-Nov2017 4.pdf

What Are Stakeholder Interviews?

Interviews with stakeholders are one-to-one conversations about a specific topic or issue. The primary purpose of these interviews is to obtain project-relevant information and elicit stakeholder reactions and suggestions. Stakeholders are likely to have knowledge, wisdom, and insight that can help an agency in its decision process. Stakeholder interviews provide a broad overview of the interviewees’ opinions about a specific topic that may reveal hidden concerns or ideas that would not be expressed in response to a set number of specific questions.

Advantages

• Helps identify issues, concerns, and desired agendas
• Helps target potential participants
• Elicits ideas for designing a public participation process
• Provides a good way to introduce agency staff to the community
• Enhances an agency’s credibility because it demonstrates agency interest in the community and in understanding the community’s concerns
• Can help defuse potentially confrontational situations
• Useful for targeting key stakeholders who have specific knowledge about an issue
• Provides opportunities to obtain an understanding of concerns and issues of key stakeholders
• Can be used to determine how best to communicate with the public