Why is authentic stakeholder engagement important in KT?
We discussed identifying and engaging stakeholder in an earlier post, but how do you move beyond that initial contact and why is it important to do so? Relationships are incredibly important, and our projects cannot go very far if we do not have support and buy in from those around us who can make things happen and support the implementation of our innovations.
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”
~ Helen Keller
Authentic engagement moves past a simple ask and builds a relationship to support positive, lasting change where everyone involved understands and supports the knowledge and action in a meaningful way. Beyond engaging for the purpose of implementing your innovation, it is important for you to understand your stakeholders, their needs, their strengths and the way they work. This can shape how you approach knowledge translation to ensure it has the greatest impact.
Moving past initial contact for meaningful engagement
So, you’ve made your first contact, your stakeholder seems to have an interest and it looks like you’ve got some common ground. How do you deepen that and move to the level of collaboration or partnership if that is where you are hoping to go with things? Below are some things you can do to move toward more meaningful stakeholder relations.
1. Schedule a “coffee” either virtually or in person. In previous roles as a community developer, whenever taking a new position in a new neighbourhood, one of my favourite things to do was my “100 cups of coffee” initiatives. Being new and not knowing anyone, it was a great way to develop stakeholder and community relationships. You make your initial contact through formal means, but the cup of coffee helps to take down the walls and help you to connect on a more individual and interpersonal level, to explore commonalities and alignment. If you go this route, be sure to prepare some questions and conversation starters in advance to help facilitate a smooth, meaningful conversation and “break the ice”. Try to build it in your project budget to cover the costs of the coffee or other drink of choice whenever possible, this takes the cost burden out of the equation of an in person “coffee”
2. Keep track of conversations and record ideas and potential alignment that are discussed. This approach will help you build on conversations, follow up on things and explore options. You might want to gather more information on a potential idea and circle back to develop it further.
3. Always ask if there is someone else to whom you should be talking. We don’t know what we don’t know, and sometimes there are other connections that are important to engage that we have never thought of. Including your existing stakeholders in this exploration strengthens the relationship and also furthers your project.
4. Always follow up with appreciation. Whenever you have initiated a conversation, follow up with a quick email to appreciate the stakeholder for their time and conversation. Highlight the valuable learning you have gained from spending time with them.
5. Don’t forget that relationships are give and take. Make sure your conversations and interactions are not just all about what you need from them and take an interest in their work and achievements. Make it your business to understand their work and the value it brings to a community, organization or a sector. Is there anything that their relationship with you can bring to the table or any meaningful connections you can provide that might help them be effective in their work?
It is worth the effort!
Putting focused time and effort into developing relationships with the right stakeholders can make a huge difference in in the results of your project and the effectiveness of the knowledge translation. Don’t get discouraged if things don’t take off right away, keep working on building each relationship and be mindful of timing and opportunity. If now is not the right time to develop a meaningful connection, perhaps a window will open in the near future!
Helpful tools and resources
The Engagement Funnel (Tamarack Institute) https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/engagement-funnel
BSR’s stakeholder engagement tools: https://www.bsr.org/en/our-insights/report-view/stakeholder-engagement-five-step-approach-toolkit
International Association for Public Participation’s IAP2 Spectrum of Engagement:
English: https://iap2canada.ca/Resources/Documents/0702-Foundations-Spectrum-MW-rev2%20(1).pdf
French: https://www.iap2canada.ca/resources/FR/Documents/AIP2Canada-Spectrum-FINAL-2016.pdf
Research to Action’s list of resources to help support stakeholder engagement: https://www.researchtoaction.org/2015/09/stakeholder-mapping-resource-list/
Alexa Bol has a Graduate degree in Community Studies and Global change and more than 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector. Before coming to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), Alexa worked in Community and International Development where she used participatory approaches to create positive change at both grassroots and system levels. As Manager of Knowledge Mobilization, Opening Minds at the MHCC, Alexa is dedicated to seeing knowledge translated into action throughout the Mental Health and Addictions sectors in a manner that includes and values all voices.
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Medical student, peer supporter and mental health champion Armaghan Alam embraces a new challenge
Armaghan Alam (who goes by Army) comes by his passion for mental health honestly. At 14, he found himself an ocean away from his family at a boarding school in Ontario.
“I was born in Pakistan, but we moved around a lot,” recalled Alam, who is currently a medical student at the University of British Columbia. “My family was living in Saudi Arabia, but I chose to pursue schooling here.” The gulf between Alam and his family left him feeling isolated and adrift. Peer support became a veritable lifeline.
“I quickly saw the value of a listening ear and, in turn, lending a hand to others,” he said, a belief he carried to McGill University, where he helped expand its peer support initiatives and quickly became a campus champion.
Now, at UBC, he’s found himself in a culture where it’s a much harder sell. “It’s ironic, really, because if anyone needs to be able to decompress with someone who understands the depth of their experiences, it’s medical students.”
But the “hidden curriculum” that puts self-sacrifice at the top of the syllabus makes them reluctant to come forward.
“I think there’s a wall that health-care providers have to put up in order to care for their patients,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to compartmentalize to do our job effectively. But when it comes to managing our own emotions, the wall can become our undoing.”
That such stigma was slowly being peeled back in recent years among health-care workers isn’t in dispute. Yet Alam worries whether those delicate incisions into the entrenched culture of stoicism will be overgrown by the scar tissue left by COVID-19.
“Just as we were beginning to talk seriously about health-care providers caring for themselves, we have a global pandemic that is seeing their selflessness being celebrated in all corners of the world. We’re holding up our health-care workers as the heroes they are — but when do they get to take off their proverbial capes and put their feet up? Who is looking after them?”
Alam likens the pandemic to a chronic disease that needs to be managed rather than an acute symptom that can be more readily addressed — and everywhere he turns, he sees its mental health implications.
“To look after mental health means good social policy, sound economics, and a functioning justice system,” he said. “It means addressing racism, intergenerational trauma, and the cultural barriers to care.” As a member of an immigrant community, Alam’s perspective offers a lens into the unique hurdles facing ethnocultural groups, where mental illness remains highly stigmatized.
Being an avid reader and life-long learner, mental health offers him endless avenues of fascinating study. And when he considers his future career, Alam is confident that, regardless of the speciality he ends up pursuing, he won’t stray too far from his passion.
“Whether I elect to focus on psychiatry or surgery, the fact is, every patient is more than just the sum of their diagnosis. Some of the most profound, life-changing conversations I’ve borne witness to have happened just before a patient goes into surgery. Staring down your mortality is one of the most powerful things anyone can experience. Being there with them in that moment — that’s not too far removed from why I fell in love with peer support.”
Bringing his skills and experience full circle, Alam is excited to offer his spirit of curiosity to the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s (MHCC’s) board of directors, where he’s keen to learn from experts in economics, justice, and governmental affairs.
“On several occasions, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with Dr. David Goldbloom (the MHCC’s former board chair), someone I looked up to in my formative years. To have a seat at the table he once helmed . . . it’s an honour beyond measure.”
Suzanne Westover
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A call for communities to join our Roots of Hope Early Adopters initiative
When the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) launched its Roots of Hope suicide prevention project in eight communities across Canada, the concept was ambitious: Build on community expertise to implement interventions tailored to the local context, while developing a wider evidence base of best practices, guidelines, and tools fit for a national scale-up.
But with the initial demonstration phase of the project slated to take place over five years, others began asking how their community might get involved without having to wait so long. Eager to share the model as widely as possible, the MHCC’s Prevention and Promotion team answered the call by developing the Roots of Hope Early Adopters initiative.
Like the demonstration project, the strategies and activities developed by Early Adopters will be based on Roots of Hope’s five pillars: specialized supports, training and networks, public awareness campaigns, means safety, and research.
“This program was born from community demand,” said Nitika Rewari, manager of Prevention and Promotion Initiatives at the MHCC. “Early Adopters will be the first to learn from what’s happened so far in the demonstration project as they begin building their own action plans, all with the guidance of the commission.”
Much of that guidance will be in the form of a community of practice (CoP), consisting of representatives from fellow Early Adopter communities and MHCC program staff. The CoP meetings will give Early Adopters access to tools and resources already developed in the demonstration project. It will also let them ask questions, share what is and isn’t working, and draw from the collective well of experience. It’s a model that’s proven invaluable for the first eight Roots of Hope communities, who continue to draw on their own CoP meetings for guidance, knowledge sharing, and connection.
“The diversity of communities represented in the CoP has been incredibly informative to the work we are doing in Iqaluit,” said Opal Mcinnis, PhD, territorial manager of mental health and addictions facilities with the Nunavut government. “As a project site that is in its early days of planning, the CoP has created excitement for what we can look forward to achieving.”
Denika Ward, a suicide prevention coordinator with the Burin Peninsula community, agrees about the value of the CoP. “It has allowed for networking with individuals from various communities involved in the Roots of Hope project across Canada and contributed to the positive, long-lasting effects of suicide prevention efforts for residents of the Burin Peninsula.”
While the eight demonstration project communities and the Early Adopters will operate independently, all the findings will ultimately contribute to a national scale-up of the Roots of Hope model. As communities band together to find the most effective strategies for them, they will simultaneously lay the groundwork for a Canadian model of community-led suicide prevention.
For Ryan Walsh, Prevention and Promotion program manager, that combination of long- and short-term rewards is what sets the Early Adopters initiative apart. “Not many communities can say they directly contributed to suicide prevention on a national scale. Early Adopters have a rare opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to suicide prevention, benefit from what the demonstration project communities have learned, and be at the forefront of the Canadian model.”
As Walsh is quick to point out, the opportunity to be an Early Adopter is not limited to large, urban areas — far from it. “Part of the project’s strength comes from the diversity of the participating communities. What works for one area may be completely unfeasible for another. The more we can learn from those differences, the more successful the model will be in reducing the impact of suicide across the country.”
Interested in becoming a Roots of Hope Early Adopter? Email Nitika Rewari for more information at nrewari@mentalhealthcommission.ca
Amber St. Louis
Since COVID-19, there have been some changes and rebooking in meetups, which have all been quite manageable. I was already working from home prior to this crisis, and I assumed that the personal impact would be negligible. This is only partly the case. There is a subconscious unknowingness that’s hard to put a finger on. One fact is that we are experiencing a global shift in humanity.
My working career was front-line focused, so I very much relate to those now engaged. The crisis has dramatically brought to mind the importance of shaping a thriving and resilient healthcare, wellness, and prevention delivery which speaks to our KT initiative—and is indeed encouraging. This crisis increases our collective appetite for experimentation and reduces adoption hurdles, thus I believe positive outcomes will result from opportunities presented.
A big shout out for digital health! Things will change after the dust has settled from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of mental health cannot be understated.
#ktfromhome
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How one group is making strides toward better access to psychotherapy
“Parity,” “shorter wait times,” “fewer barriers,” “what we need, when we need it.”
Those were some of the key words and phrases members of the psychotherapy policy implementation network (PPIN) shared when asked to describe what better access to psychotherapies means to them. At their first meeting last February, of course, they couldn’t have imagined that a brewing pandemic would heighten the urgency of their work.
The PPIN consists of thought leaders, people with lived experience, Canadian health‑care provider associations, clinicians, researchers, and other experts. Its goal is to develop recommendations for the federal government that will increase access to psychotherapies in the Canadian health-care system. In its role as secretariat, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) acts as an impartial facilitator of the group’s activities. Dr. Karen Cohen, CEO of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), co-chairs the network alongside the MHCC.
“While some publicly funded psychotherapies exist in hospitals and mental health centres, they have long waiting lists and many people cannot afford the services offered in private practice,” noted Louise Bradley, the MHCC’s president and CEO. “Yet these treatments are essential to our population’s health.”
The network is a place to share information, explained Kam Tello, the program manager for the MHCC’s Access to Quality Mental Health Services. “We have to look at what’s available in each jurisdiction, what’s working, and where the gaps are from different perspectives. It’s a collaborative effort.”
The PPIN is currently drafting a declaration on the need to enhance access to psychotherapy. In charting the process and recommendations about how to do so, it will consider funding models, quality assurance, implementation, and outcome-based measurements of care.
This work has taken on even more significance in light of the fears, uncertainties, job losses, and economic instability wrought by COVID-19. For Cohen, the need to close the gaps in access to psychological services has increased in urgency as individuals, families, and communities cope with the physical and mental health impacts of the pandemic.
Canada’s public and private health sectors have thankfully stepped up to offer mental health services and supports. Examples include CPA’s crisis response initiative for front-line health-care workers and social workers, the addition of counsellors/psychotherapists as employee benefits for government workers, and the federal government’s Wellness Together Canada portal with free resources and counselling.
While these enhancements are a step in the right direction, unfortunately, many are program based and may only be temporary. To improve wellness and treat illness over the long term, we need sustainable investments in mental health services and supports.
“That’s why the PPIN is focused on long-term solutions,” said Tello. “When COVID-19 is behind us, perhaps along with many of the programs and services it has inspired, people in Canada will still need access to meaningful, evidence-based mental health treatments, maybe more than ever.”
To develop recommendations that fit the Canadian context, the PPIN is also looking abroad. The United Kingdom and Australia have their own expanded access programs, built on grant- and insurance-based models, which serve as important case studies in crafting a built-for-Canada solution. (Visit the MHCC’s Expanding Access page for a more in-depth look at these examples.)
While the PPIN has much work ahead, its members are encouraged by the shift in the mental health conversation.
“There seems to be growing recognition that mental health is part of health and should be treated equally,” said Tello. “There’s more interest from employers, more coverage from the media, and more discussion about access and why it matters.”
Bradley concurs. “Access to better mental health care could be a deciding factor for curbing an echo pandemic in mental illness as we (eventually) emerge from COVID-19. If there is a silver lining to the challenges we’re hurdling now, it may be the recognition that physical health is only half the battle. There is no health without mental health.”
As the conversation about physical and mental health parity gains steam, the PPIN is striving toward meaningful action to achieve it. By developing sound recommendations, the group hopes to help position Canada as a global leader in expanded access to psychotherapies.
For Maureen Abbott, manager of the MHCC’s Access to Quality Mental Health Services, the composition of the network itself only makes such an outcome more likely. “The members offer relevant personal and professional experience regarding access to psychotherapies. But a great strength of the group is respecting and valuing members’ diversity of opinions and perspectives as they reach consensus during the decision-making process.”
Update, February 2022: The work of the PPIN is now complete! Read The Time is Now: Considerations for a National Psychotherapy Program.
Amber St. Louis
Storytelling is a tool used in many different contexts, like when a teacher shares a story during a lesson at school or a grandfather shares a story about family traditions.
Chances are that at some point in your life, you have told a story. Storytelling is a tool used in many different contexts, like when a teacher shares a story during a lesson at school or a grandfather shares a story about family traditions. Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of teaching and sharing, and it’s no surprise that it is a popular method of Knowledge Translation.
So, what exactly is storytelling? Storytelling is an effective way of sharing a message, experience or lesson. It can be used in various formats, such as in person, through video, in an audiobook or podcast, or via text. The examples above highlight how storytelling may be used in everyday life. In the mental health and addictions field, we commonly see storytelling used when a person with lived experience shares their story.
Storytelling is popular for a reason; stories are impactful because they are personal and bring the information to life, which helps the listener find meaning in the information and apply it. Stories can also break down barriers and encourage attitude and behaviour change by increasing empathy and understanding in the listener. A story moves people beyond research findings and allows the listener to connect with and immerse themselves into it, triggering an empathic response. Stories also help with retaining information more easily, and they are easily accessible to a wide range of people. Finally, stories are likely to be retold and shared with others.
If you are planning to use storytelling as a method for your Knowledge Translation, keep in mind the following tips for safely and effectively telling your story:
- Make sure you are ready to share your story
Your story may lead to praise, criticism, questions, or further opportunities. Make sure that you are in a space to accept these various reactions and work with them.
- Know your audience
You do not need to share all the details of your story if it doesn’t feel right for who you are presenting to. For example, the details that you share with a group of adults may differ from what you would share with a group of young adults.
- Focus on educating others
Determine what your purpose and intention is by sharing your story. What is it that you want them to learn? What is the message you want to give?
- Look at eliciting hope, or focusing on the positive
This doesn’t mean that your story should not include hard times or negative experiences, but keep in mind that some details of your story may be triggering for others and may not need to be included. The focus of your story should be what has come from those negative experiences and what got you to here.
- Respect the confidentiality of others in your story
There is no doubt that your story will include other characters, but avoid using their real names or identifying factors, regardless if they had a positive or negative impact in your life. If you do think it would be beneficial to include information (i.e. the name of a doctor that really helped you), be sure to get their permission.
- Consider stating that your story is yours
Everyone’s journey is unique. Your audience should know that it’s okay if their experience is different from yours.
- Be creative (if you want)
There are no strict rules for how to tell your story. You may find it easiest to stick with a chronological story, or maybe you would rather focus on one theme at a time. Think about the message that you are trying to convey and how best to do that.
- Be genuine – be yourself!
Tell your story as you, using your voice and your personality (but remember to know your audience). This will help you connect with your audience. If you’re sharing your story via text, it’s okay to be informal. Easy language will draw people in and set you apart from academic or formal texts.
For a helpful tool, check out the MHCC resource below called “Telling Your Story”, which was created for individuals involved in caregiving who are promoting caregiver guidelines and recommendations. While the chart used is specific to that project’s purpose, it can easily be modified to your own story’s purpose.
Link: https://dev-mhcc.pantheonsite.io/resource/appendix-8-telling-your-story/
References
Hajric, Emil. “Storytelling.” Knowledge Management Tools, 2018, www.knowledge-management-tools.net/storytelling.php.
Wende, Erik, et al. “Exploring Storytelling as a Knowledge Transfer Technique in Offshore Outsourcing.” Thirty Fifth International Conference on Information Systems, 2014, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/149b/97578731d35563254a6d879ee4623219b140.pdf.
“Headstrong.” HEADSTRONG, 2020, headstrongyouth.ca/.
Author: Caroline Ostrom
Translating Knowledge for Change During COVID #4: Jackie Ralph
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Grey Bruce
It is certainly safe to say that COVID-19 has definitely added things to my life and taken some other things away. When Ontario was first placed under the emergency declaration, my first thought was, “Great, now I can have time to focus on many things on my “back burner” that I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to invest time into like my KT project.” However, things turned into the exact opposite.
My days have been fuller and busier than ever. I think of the things that have been added to my life like trying to figure out Microsoft teams and Zoom! LOL! But it hasn’t all been bad. I have benefitted by saving money on things like my mileage expenses! It was normal for me to clock up to 2,000 km a month with a schedule that saw me do 600 presentations and displays and trainings in a year. Some good has come out of this COVID-19 situation.
Now, more people than ever want to talk about mental health. There has also been more funding for mental health. And while I’m not out providing our puppet presentations in elementary schools or doing information displays at health fairs or running an ASIST training, there has been more requests than ever before for information, for articles, for “virtual” speaking gigs, and for resources. For that I am so very grateful. It certainly is the positive out of this negative situation.
But my “back burner” has now become the back basement! Ha! But on the flip side, my project, which was about providing mental health awareness using a community approach, has now become more needed and current and sought after then ever! There have been more opportunities to talk about my project with those that can bring it to fruition. So, while I may not have put as many words to paper as I had hoped, the connections I wanted to make have already been started. I hope all my KT project team members are doing well during this time. It is a new and interesting time for sure. One we will talk about for generations. One that will have an impact on us for generations. And ideally, one that will have positive repercussions for generations.
#ktfromhome
Have you ever wondered how Knowledge Translation (KT) as we know it came to be?
The term can be daunting for those who have never really had the chance to learn what KT really is, as opposed to the myths surrounding it. If you haven’t already read our blog on “KT: Myth vs. Reality”[Link] check it out. If you have already read this blog piece and are still curious for more, you are in the right place.
The question at hand for us to consider is, what factors led to the creation of KT as a tool for knowledge implementation, and why is it important for us to understand this today?
A Brief History of Knowledge Translation
There have been several debates concerning the origins of Knowledge Translation. For decades, researchers were conducting valuable studies on varying topics within the Health field without any tangible results. This trend was largely critiqued in academia; research tended to be housed in one place, but the people who needed these resources the most were left without any link to receive valuable knowledge which could help to improve their services. Knowledge translation became a bridge to link research conducted by researchers to the health service providers who were in need of innovations to improve their services.
You see, for a long time, researchers continued to research, and practitioners continued their practices, but the two groups were not in conversation with one another—there was a disconnect. In short, this was viewed as a “knowledge transfer problem.”[1] This trend in research being far-removed from its end-users led to the creation of a new method which would work to marry the research with its intended practical change.
According to the University of Waterloo, “the concept of KT emerged in the 1990s, where producers of research “pushed the research message onto end-users, but its meaning has since evolved.”[2] In 2000, the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) coined the term “Knowledge Translation” (KT) and defined it as, “a dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians, provide more effective health services and products, and strengthen the health care system” (CIHR).[3] From this point forward, more research was conducted to analyse the “Knowledge gaps” between research to implementation. Despite this research, the knowledge transfer problem continued.
Putting KT Into Practice
This narrative changed with the creation of the “I2I”. The Mental Health Commission of Canada’s I2I (Implementation to Innovation) Guide, is a great resource which offers further insight concerning how one can use “KT activities” to implement much needed knowledge in the services which need it the most. [4]
Created in 2012, the I2I, “guide illustrates how to move from innovation to implementation in a thoughtful manner to achieve the desired outcomes on a project or initiative. The I2I guide was developed on the basis of research findings and practical experience, through which it became apparent that a wider range of practices, participants, and types of knowledge need to be incorporated into KT activities.”[5]
This, “practical, action-oriented guide”, is a key model that is used within our SPARK training program to help participants apply their knowledge about KT in an effective, efficient, and noteworthy way. If you are somewhat familiar with KT, you may have come across the statement that it takes 17 years on average to implement knowledge into action. While there isn’t a definitive “number” of years that it takes to turn knowledge into action, advocates of KT have worked tirelessly to decrease this large knowledge gap through their activism.
References
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 2010. Knowledge to Action: What it is and what it isn’t.” https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41928.html
Mental Health Commission of Canada. 2012. Innovation to Implementation: A Practical Guide to Knowledge Translation in Healthcare.
University of Waterloo. n.d. “Get Facts Knowledge Translation: What is Knowledge Translation?”. https://uwaterloo.ca/get-facts-knowledge-translation/knowledge-translation.
Elizabeth Peprah is a current PhD Student in Human and Social Services with a concentration in Community Intervention and Leadership at Walden University. She is a graduate of a master’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies at Carleton University where she researched the connection between mental health and sexual assault trauma. Elizabeth further discovered the importance of adequate mental health services for victimized women while working with women in a bail residency program with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa. She blogs on gender-based violence at serwaaspeaks.com and has been a Knowledge Broker with the MHCC since January 2020.
[1] University of Waterloo. n.d. “Get Facts Knowledge Translation: What is Knowledge Translation?”. https://uwaterloo.ca/get-facts-knowledge-translation/knowledge-translation
[2] Ibid
[3] Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 2010. Knowledge to Action: What it is and what it isn’t.” https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41928.html
[4] Mental Health Commission of Canada. 2012. Innovation to Implementation: A Practical Guide to Knowledge Translation in Healthcare, p.1
[5] Ibid
Many times, we are connected to, or know of many different individuals and organizations we would like to involve in our Knowledge Translation plan.
We may also be aware of other organizations and individuals that we are not already connected to but might like to engage. But how do we go about figuring out who we should be engaging and how to go about doing it?
Before beginning on this journey, it is important to first be clear about your purpose as well as your innovation (the tool or piece of research you are hoping to implement). Determining your purpose may include some stakeholder engagement even at that phase of your project.
A great way to start identifying your stakeholders (or actors and agents of change) is to do a bit of a “brain dump”, looking at which people/organizations you think should be involved to help you to be effective in your Knowledge Translation plan and writing down everyone who comes into your mind. Some potential stakeholders might include:
- Colleagues and leaders in your own organization
- Thought leaders or researchers in the field
- Family caregivers
- People with lived experience
- Existing networks or groups whose work is relevant to the scope of your project
- Organizations (other than your own if applicable) that are working in areas that are related
- Changemakers and policy makers
You can then divide them into categories that you think make sense (for example: frontline workers, health care professionals, community members, people with lived experience, etc.).
Once you have done this, you will want to start asking some questions as you review your list to determine who your key players and champions (agents of change) might be. Some key questions to ask:
- Who will use the innovation?
- Who else is working on something similar or in the same area?
- Who has the power/influence to make things happen? And where do they have this influence?
- Who can help access the resources we need to implement this plan (people, money, space, network, reach, etc)
- Who has the potential to be a detractor and take away from the process?
- Who has expressed interest already?
- Who would be most committed to and supportive of the plan?
- Who has the capacity to support?
There are many other potential questions, but these can get you started! You want to be sure you engage a variety of stakeholders to ensure your plan stays on track, reaches those you want it to, and creates the change you had hoped. This means it is crucial for you to engage people with lived experience and potential end users as well as organizations, leaders, staff etc. The earlier stakeholder engagement happens the better.
Asking questions can help you start to pull out who an agent of change within your process might be or in other words an influencer or a champion. Once you have your list and have sorted it into categories as well as identified some of your agents of change it is time to move on to strategizing your engagement approach and how best to engage each of the individuals and organizations on your list.
Other Helpful Resources:
Research to Action’s list of resources to help support stakeholder engagement:
https://www.researchtoaction.org/2015/09/stakeholder-mapping-resource-list/
Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement’s library of tools and articles to support stakeholder engagement in the community:
https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/communityengagement
BSR’s stakeholder engagement tools:
https://www.bsr.org/en/our-insights/report-view/stakeholder-engagement-five-step-approach-toolkit
International Association for Public Participation’s IAP2 Spectrum of Engagement:
https://iap2canada.ca/Resources/Documents/0702-Foundations-Spectrum-MW-rev2%20(1).pdf
Alexa Bol has a Graduate degree in Community Studies and Global change and more than 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector. Before coming to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), Alexa worked in Community and International Development where she used participatory approaches to create positive change at both grassroots and system levels. As Manager of Knowledge Mobilization, Opening Minds at the MHCC, Alexa is dedicated to seeing knowledge translated into action throughout the Mental Health and Addictions sectors in a manner that includes and values all voices.
