A Guide to Multistakeholder Work: Lessons from the Water Dialogues

This guide summarises the tools and methods used and the lessons learned from The Water Dialogues - a project that brings together a wide range of stakeholders to address a highly controversial issue around the privatisation of water supply and sanitation services with the aim of improving policy and practice. Although its contents are rooted in the experience of the Water Dialogues project, the guide should be useful to anyone who is planning to develop their own form of multistakeholder work.
 
As well as providing tips on developing and maintaining multistakeholder processes, the guide also includes examples of potential difficulties and strategies for avoiding or resolving these.
 
This guide is aimed at individuals and organisations – including national and local governments, industry, NGOs and CSOs, trade unions, donors, multilateral organisations and others – who want to know more about multistakeholder processes and how to convene and maintain them. It is also use by members of the Water Dialogues National Working Groups (NWGs) and International Working Group (IWG) as a tool for reflection on past work and an aid for future projects.

To download this soft copies, see at www.waterdialogues.org.

Contents:

Introduction
What this guide is about
Why this guide has been produced
Who should use the guide
How to use the guide

Section One: An Introduction to Multistakeholder Processes
1.1 What is a multistakeholder process
1.2 The Example of the Water Dialogues

Section Two: Designing and Planning Multistakeholder Dialogues
2.1 Step One: Is a multistakeholder process the best way forward
2.2 Step Two: Who else is interested in a multistakeholder process
2.3 Step Three: What is teh best form for the process to take
2.4 Step Four: Deciding the level(s) at which process(es) should happen

Section Three: Governing Multistakeholder Processes
3.1 Why have a governance structure
3.2 Selecting governing body members
3.3 Criteria for and roles of governing body members
3.4 Tensions in the governance and coordination of multi-locational processes

Section Four: Bringing Multiple Stakeholders Together
4.1 Holding the first large stakeholder meeting
4.2 Forming a multistakeholder working group
4.3 Community participation issues

Section Five: Resourcing Multistakeholder Processes
5.1 Are external resources necessary
5.2 When should fundraising begin
5.3 Where will funds be held
5.4 Who will be Responsible for Financial Accounting
5.5 Deciding on donors
5.6 Tensions between being a process and a project

Section Six: Supporting The Process – Secretariats, Coordinators and Consultants
6.1 Why have a coordinator or secretariat
6.2 Things to consider when establishing a secretariat
6.3 Challenges for secretariats and coordinators

Section Seven: Building and Sustaining Mutistakeholder  Processes
7.1 Building Trust and Creating a Safe Space for Dialogue
7.2 Decision-making in multistakeholder groups
7.3 Sustaining Personal and Organisational Motivation
7.4 The Impact of Context and Culture
7.5 Dealing with Conflict

Section Eight: Organising and Conducting Multistakeholder Meetings
8.1 Types of multistakeholder meetings
8.2 Basic guidelines for multistakeholder meetings
8.3 Facilitation
8.4 Extended meetings and central meetings of multi-locational processes
8.5 Preparing for central/ international meetings
8.6 A note on encouraging interactions between groups and across cultures
8.7 Facilitating work between meetings

Section Nine: Multistakeholder Research
9.1 Why carry out research
9.2 The differences between conventional and multistakeholder research
9.3 Issues and challenges for multi-locational processes
9.4 Developing Multistakeholder Research
9.5 Choosing the right research team
9.6 Reviewing and interpreting research findings
9.7 Working with academic panels

Section Ten: External Communications
10.1 Developing a basic communications strategy
10.2 Establishing approval protocols
10.3 Identifying audiences
10.4 Developing Basic Messages
10.5 Deciding on the media mix
10.6 Developing the process’s identity
10.7 Building and maintining support for the multistakeholder process

Section Eleven: Advocacy
11.1 The importance of advocacy between multistakeholder group members
11.2 Developing an advocacy strategy
11.3 Advocacy to wider audiences during the multistakeholder process]
11.4 Adapting standard advocacy practices to multistakeholder work

Bibliography

Additional Reading