The water cycle in an urban area or a catchment integrates the effects of many people's activities. So:

1. an organisation committed to managing the water cycle must work with other organisations and with members of local communities, and
2. a person (e.g. an officer in a local Council) wanting to influence water cycle outcomes (ecologically, socio-economically, ...) must work with many stakeholders within and outside their organisation.

A starting point for working with people is to put yourself in their shoes, to improve your understanding of what they care about and how they influence the outcomes.

A formal way of doing this, which is helpful for getting oriented professionally, is stakeholder analysis. In stakeholder analysis one explores what a group's position is (what they say they want), and what their underlying interests are (what is at stake for them: how they are affected).

Primarily when we want other people to do something that they are not already doing - or not doing for us. In these situations our capacity to influence people is closed tied to our understanding of what they care about. The basic cases are:

1. when we want people to do something new, and
2. when we are new to a situation and need to orient ouselves.

Stakeholder analysis is described in the catchment audit protocol.

They key steps are:

1. identifying who has a stake in catchment (urban water, ...) outcomes
2. exploring their positions and interests
3. exploring the tensions or conflicts between people's interests.

In the catchment audit process these steps are enriched by regarding 'ecosystems' - ecological places - as a kind of 'stakeholder' with 'interests', and including 'their interests' within the analysis of tensions and conflicts.

The catchment audit protocol is based (in part) on principled negotiation. The catchment audit process helps practitioners explore what's at stake from different groups' perspectives as they explore the socio-economic and biophysical character of their catchment.

When we do not already know how people are likely to respond to a proposal of ours, it makes sense to put ourselves in their shoes and ask how they are likely to see it.

In familiar situations - where we are asking people to do something we have asked them to do before - we're likely to have a good feel for what to do (so listening to ouselves - listening to our own sense of how to act - is likely to be a good guide). In new situations we need to explore to get oriented. In new situations we need to explore to get oriented. Putting ourselves in other people's shoes (preeminently listening to them) is a good start to this.

• Catchment audit protocol
  • Identifying stakeholders
  • Exploring interests and positions
  • Exploring tensions and conflicts
    
• Engaging stakeholders
• Principled negotiation
  
• Application of stakeholder analysis and social analysis and social mapping in coastal zone management in Australia
  
• Institutional development: learning by doing and sharing (Canada)
  • Includes a methodology of stakeholder analysis