Stakeholder analysis worksheet

Identify broadly who is connected to this program or evaluation, then place them in a power–interest matrix and decide engagement strategies for each group. Deliberately include beneficiaries and marginalized groups.

When to use this worksheet and what completion involves Fictional completed example

EvalCompass Worksheet

Stakeholder analysis worksheet

Method: Stakeholder Analysis

Basic information

Enter an overview of the program or evaluation being analyzed

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Program / evaluation name: Community counseling service evaluation (fictional)
Analysis date: September 13, 2026
Analyst: Evaluation officer and resident collaborator
Scope (whole program / evaluation design, etc.): Evaluation design and use of findings

Reason for this entry: Distinguish this scope from overall program operations.

Program / evaluation name

Analysis date

Analyst

Scope (whole program / evaluation design, etc.)

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Enter an overview of the program or evaluation being analyzed

Distinguish this scope from overall program operations.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Follow each field’s heading to record the program name, focus, period, and other details. Leave undecided matters clearly marked as unresolved.

Read the full fictional example

Stakeholder list

List all stakeholders and enter their characteristics

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Stakeholder name / group	Role and position	Main concerns	Influence over evaluation (high / medium / low)	Interest in evaluation (high / medium / low)
Service users	People receiving support	Confidentiality and ease of seeking advice	Low	High
Non-users	People who may not be reached by support	Can they seek advice without others finding out?	Low	Medium
Budget manager	Decides whether to continue the program	Resource allocation and outcomes	High	High
Partner service	Referral destination	Referral workload and intake capacity	Medium	High

Reason for this entry: Roles and interests are hypotheses not yet confirmed with the people concerned.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Stakeholder name / group	Role and position	Main concerns	Influence over evaluation (high / medium / low)	Interest in evaluation (high / medium / low)

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

List all stakeholders and enter their characteristics

Roles and interests are hypotheses not yet confirmed with the people concerned.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Keep the information in each row aligned. Scroll wide tables horizontally to see every column.

Read the full fictional example

Power–interest matrix (4 quadrants and engagement strategies)

Describe who belongs in each of the 4 quadrants and determine engagement strategies

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Quadrant (high power × high interest, etc.)	Relevant stakeholders	Engagement strategy (specific actions)
High power × high interest	Budget manager	Agree on questions and timing of use
Low power × high interest	Service users	Seek individual views and invite participation in interpreting findings
Low power × medium interest	Non-users	Offer voluntary interviews that do not affect eligibility for support

Reason for this entry: Reduce participation burdens and provide information channels for people with little influence.

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Quadrant (high power × high interest, etc.)	Relevant stakeholders	Engagement strategy (specific actions)

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Describe who belongs in each of the 4 quadrants and determine engagement strategies

Reduce participation burdens and provide information channels for people with little influence.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Keep the information in each row aligned. Scroll wide tables horizontally to see every column.

Read the full fictional example

Engaging marginalized groups

Describe groups whose voices should be heard despite low power and low interest, and how to reach them

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

Provide accessible explanations, telephone responses and a choice of accompanying person. Explain that declining participation will not disadvantage access to support.

Reason for this entry: Inviting everyone to the same meeting alone leaves participation barriers unresolved.

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Describe groups whose voices should be heard despite low power and low interest, and how to reach them

Inviting everyone to the same meeting alone leaves participation barriers unresolved.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Use the example as a reference and record what you have established about your own program. Distinguish assumptions and unchecked matters from confirmed facts.

Read the full fictional example

Completion checklist

Completed example for this section (fictional)

This fictional example is for explanation. Adapt it to your own program. Your entries will not change.

☑ Checked: Beneficiaries and end users are included
☑ Checked: Stakeholders who may oppose or resist are included
☑ Checked: Specific approaches for engaging marginalized groups have been considered
☐ Not checked: Engagement strategies are recorded for all quadrants

Reason for this entry: Some stakeholders may not yet be identified. Update the analysis after consulting partners.

Beneficiaries and end users are included
Stakeholders who may oppose or resist are included
Specific approaches for engaging marginalized groups have been considered
Engagement strategies are recorded for all quadrants

Writing tips and explanation for this section

About this section

Some stakeholders may not yet be identified. Update the analysis after consulting partners.

View the method explanation

Writing tips

Read each item and check those you have confirmed. Do not use the fictional example’s checkbox states as findings about your own program.

Read the full fictional example

Before writing, check when to use the worksheet and what completion involves

Stakeholder analysis worksheet is a worksheet for applying Stakeholder Analysis in meetings or individual work. For the overall duration of the method, use “Illustrative estimate (adjust for scale and staffing): half a day to 1 day (workshop format)” as a reference, adjusting for scale and resources. Fill in what you know provisionally and leave unresolved matters as questions to check next.

When this worksheet is useful

Identifying whose perspectives and needs should inform evaluation questions early in design
Before selecting participants for participatory or community evaluation
Understanding roles and interests in programs involving multiple agencies and sectors

Participants and preparation

Evaluation officers, program managers and frontline staff. Involving outside experts can reduce bias. A workshop of 4–8 people is an illustrative plan.

Bring the materials used for decisions, existing data, and differing stakeholder views to help complete the worksheet.

Suggested order

1. Basic informationEnter an overview of the program or evaluation being analyzed
2. Stakeholder listList all stakeholders and enter their characteristics
3. Power–interest matrix (4 quadrants and engagement strategies)Describe who belongs in each of the 4 quadrants and determine engagement strategies
4. Engaging marginalized groupsDescribe groups whose voices should be heard despite low power and low interest, and how to reach them
5. Completion checklist

Signs the worksheet is ready for review

Stakeholder list (characteristics, interests and influence)
Power–interest matrix
Engagement strategy notes

Cautions for review

Forgetting beneficiaries (people whose circumstances the program ultimately seeks to change), or dismissing them as low-interest, low-power stakeholders
Restricting analysis to organizations and agencies and missing differing positions and interests within them, including gender, ethnicity and age
Keeping findings internal without sharing or checking them with stakeholders

Read a completed fictional example (your entries will not change)

Fictional example; not actual results

The following fictional example identifies stakeholder engagement approaches before evaluating a resident counseling service.

Basic information

Program / evaluation name: Community counseling service evaluation (fictional)
Analysis date: September 13, 2026
Analyst: Evaluation officer and resident collaborator
Scope (whole program / evaluation design, etc.): Evaluation design and use of findings

Reason for this entry: Distinguish this scope from overall program operations.

Stakeholder list

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Stakeholder name / group	Role and position	Main concerns	Influence over evaluation (high / medium / low)	Interest in evaluation (high / medium / low)
Service users	People receiving support	Confidentiality and ease of seeking advice	Low	High
Non-users	People who may not be reached by support	Can they seek advice without others finding out?	Low	Medium
Budget manager	Decides whether to continue the program	Resource allocation and outcomes	High	High
Partner service	Referral destination	Referral workload and intake capacity	Medium	High

Reason for this entry: Roles and interests are hypotheses not yet confirmed with the people concerned.

Power–interest matrix (4 quadrants and engagement strategies)

Scroll horizontally to view the table

Quadrant (high power × high interest, etc.)	Relevant stakeholders	Engagement strategy (specific actions)
High power × high interest	Budget manager	Agree on questions and timing of use
Low power × high interest	Service users	Seek individual views and invite participation in interpreting findings
Low power × medium interest	Non-users	Offer voluntary interviews that do not affect eligibility for support

Reason for this entry: Reduce participation burdens and provide information channels for people with little influence.

Engaging marginalized groups

Provide accessible explanations, telephone responses and a choice of accompanying person. Explain that declining participation will not disadvantage access to support.

Reason for this entry: Inviting everyone to the same meeting alone leaves participation barriers unresolved.

Completion checklist

☑ Checked: Beneficiaries and end users are included
☑ Checked: Stakeholders who may oppose or resist are included
☑ Checked: Specific approaches for engaging marginalized groups have been considered
☐ Not checked: Engagement strategies are recorded for all quadrants

Reason for this entry: Some stakeholders may not yet be identified. Update the analysis after consulting partners.

Common errors in judgment

Excluding non-users with little influence

How to revise: Consider ways to involve them as sources on why the program has not reached them

Reason: Decision-making authority and the importance of experience are different.

Treating the secretariat’s assumptions as a person’s established interests

How to revise: Distinguish hypotheses from confirmed information in the analysis and check with the person

Reason: A person’s interests cannot be determined from their position alone.

Editorial and checking information

Content updated: 2026-09-13Source checked: 2026-09-13 (includes AI cross-checking)No documented human reviewIncludes fictional examplesEditorial policy and scope of checking Cite this page Report a correction

References and checked sections

Stakeholder mapping and analysis
BetterEvaluation
Section consulted
Main text; Advice for using this method
How it relates to the text
Identify opponents as well as supporters and people who become relevant as a result of evaluation.
Source checked: 2026-09-13 (includes AI cross-checking)

How to cite this page

EvalCompass Editorial Team. “Stakeholder analysis worksheet”. EvalCompass, updated 2026-09-13. https://evalcompass.jun-nakatani.com/en/worksheets/stakeholder-analysis/

Add the date you accessed the page. Text created by this site is available under CC BY 4.0. Quotations, external materials, and bundled fonts have their own terms of use. When reusing content, credit the source, link to the license, and indicate any changes.

Suggest a correction or improvement to this page

Change history

2026-09-13 — Updated explanations to correspond to the sources and added method-specific fictional completed examples, judgment examples and a change log.