Read at : “Lakatos, Christina (IFPRI)” <C.LAKATOS@cgiar.org>

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IFPRI Paper Puts Forth Innovative Tool for Mapping Stakeholder Networks

International Food Policy Research Institute
Tracing Power and Influence in Networks: Net-Map as a Tool for Research and Strategic Network Planning
By Eva Schiffer and Douglas Waale
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/dp/ifpridp00772.asp

Believing that stakeholders should have a say in policies that concern them, policymakers have begun to promote the development of stakeholder forums and organizations to address governance issues such as water management. This paper presents an innovative empirical research tool—Net-Map—developed to better understand multi-stakeholder governance by gathering in-depth information about governance networks, goals of actors, and their power and influence. Researchers and implementers alike can use Net-Map to collect qualitative and quantitative information in a structured and comparable way. It can be used both as a research tool and as an instrument for organizational development and strategic network planning. A case study on the development of a multi-stakeholder water governance body in northern Ghana illustrates the application of this research method. The method can be used on many different levels, from the community, to national or even international levels.

Ms. Christina Lakatos
Communications Specialist
Environment and Production Technology Division
International Food Policy Research Institute
2033 K St., NW
Washington, DC 20006
(p) +1 202 862 5699
(f)  +1 202 467 4439
c.lakatos@cgiar.org
http://www.ifpri.org/divs/eptd.htm