Unit 11: Project Design and Management
Stakeholder spider web activity guide
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Unit 11: Project Design and Management
Stakeholder spider web activity guide
Estimated duration: 20 minutes
Aim • To simulate a stakeholder mapping session
Objective At the end of this class, students will be able to: • Understand the concept of a stakeholder • Identify the networked connections between stakeholder groups and individuals
Resources •
Three lengths of paper streamer per student (long enough to reach across a circle of all the students in the class) • Stakeholder nametags (included below)
Activity description First, move all furniture and any other obstructive objects to the side of the room to create an open space. Explain to students that an important part of the scoping stage involves identifying the project stakeholders: groups, organisations and individuals that not only could benefit from your project but perhaps also support your group to deliver it. Get students to imagine that they are managing a sustainability project or use a project you considered in the brainstorm earlier. Give each student an ID nametag, which represents a stakeholder who could be involved in the project. The nametags also list other stakeholders which they have direct contact with. Tell students that they have two minutes to find and introduce themselves (i.e. what their involvement might be in the project) to the stakeholders they have direct contact with, as listed on their name tag. After two minutes, call out ‘FREEZE’ and observe the formation of the group. They are likely to have formed small clusters of ‘immediate stakeholders’. Ask students if they had a chance to introduce themselves. If they did not introduce themselves to all of the people they have direct contact with, give them some more time. If they have, ask them to stand in a large circle next to someone who is not one of their immediate stakeholders. Give each student three lengths of paper streamer, to represent the web that connects them to their network of stakeholders. Get them to go around the circle tossing their streamers to the stakeholders they work directly with. Remind the students that they will need to be mindful of how fragile the streamers are. Just like stakeholder relationships, you need to handle them with care or they might break! By the time the whole group is finished, they will have produced a complex web of streamers. Page 2 of 5
Explain to the class that stakeholder networks exist because people have an interest in or are directly affected by an issue. Even if you are not directly connected to a network you can still tap into them by using the networks you already have. Everyone is connected. Building networks with other community members or organisations can be useful when trying to get something done. But they can take time to develop and often need to be considered strategically. Conclude the activity by asking students to break free from their webs and return to their seats. (Based on an activity from the Centre for Multicultural Youth short burst training)
Student Roles and Responsibilities Participate in agreed tasks Contribute to class discussions Complete activities and worksheets Work cooperatively with others Seek teacher assistance and support when needed
Level of Teacher Support Facilitate discussion Provide encouragement Introduce tasks and activities Provide assistance when requested
Assessment To use these learning activities as assessment tasks, collect evidence such as: Teacher checklist and observation Teacher checklist for class discussions
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Unit 11: Project Design
Stakeholder spider web name tags Stakeholder:
Directly connected to (top three):
Young person
Parent, school, sporting club
School
State government, local government, funding body
Migrant resource centre
Funding body, local government, parents
Local government
State government, schools, business
State government
Local government, Office of Housing, community health centre
Office of Housing
State government, local government, parent
Business
State government, local government, media
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Parent
Schools, Office of Housing, young person
Elder
Local government, migrant resource centre, parent
Community service organisation
Community health centre, Office of Housing, state government
Funding body
Business, media, state government
Environmental organisation
State government, local government, schools
Media
State government, local government, business
Sporting club
Funding body, business, young person
Community health centre
Migrant resource centre, local government, state government
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