Actor Analysis

Definition of Actor Analysis

What is Actor Analysis? Actor Analysis examines how people and groups react and work with one another. Actor analysis is an analysis of all relevant actors. Relevant actors are:

• Actors that have an interest in the decision making;
• Actors that can hinder the decision making;
• Actors that can enrich the decision making;
• Actors that has to be involved on moral arguments.<refDescription of the Tool Manageing for Impact</ref>

In other words: actors are those parties that have a certain interest in the system and/or that have some ability to influence that system, either directly or indirectly. Note that we use the term ‘actor’, and not ‘stakeholder’. In practice, the terms are often interchanged. However, sometimes the term stakeholder is used to refer to those groups that have an interest, or stake, in decision-making processes, but that have relatively few means to influence decision-making or the system. Such stakeholders typically include interest groups or pressure groups and, in some cases, the public at large or a specific part of the public such as poor households, people of a certain age-group or the beneficiaries of a certain welfare scheme.

Steps Providing an Overview on Potentially Relevant Actors

Below is a sequence of steps providing an overview on potentially relevant actors for a TDR project. The sequence is based on Cash et al.; as shortened and adapted by Tobias Buser.

• Step 1: Start with the (broad) focus or overarching goal of the project and identify the relevant geographical scales (ie local, regional, and global).
• Step 2: Find actors in the system of interest. Answer the questions below with the aim of generating a (usually long) list of all potentially relevant actors. Regarding the project’s topic and overarching goals:
  • Who has decision power?
  • Who is able to act and who needs to act?
  • Who can elaborate/change regulations and policies?
  • Who do you expect to have important knowledge and expertise?
  • Who should consider the results of the project?
  • Who should know about the project?
  • Who is affected by the project (intentionally and unintentionally)?
  • Who can affect the project?
• Step 3: Differentiate and categorise stakeholders. Possible categories:
  • Roles of the stakeholders: What are the roles and main tasks of a specific actor or actor group regarding the field of interest?
  • Scale: What is the scale of influence for specific actors (local, regional, national, international, or global)?
  • Interest in the project: What are the main interests a specific actor has regarding the main goals of the project?

Note: Cross-tables with the actors on one axis and the categories on the other axis are a convenient way for an overview.

• Step 4: Want to keep Power and relations. Analyse potential stakeholders’ interest and power regarding the project.
  

(1) Power/interest grid: The power/interest grid helps to classify actors in a way that informs who to involve. To conduct a power/interest grid, you need a certain degree of knowledge on the actor system in the field of interest. As your knowledge on the actor system increases through face to face exchange (eg interviews), surveys, and desktop analysis, the power/interest grid becomes more reliable. It is thus advisable to reconsider it from time to time. Classify the actors based on your current knowledge into one of the four quadrants – note that power can be constituted by several factors, eg power to take decisions, economic power, social capital, knowledge, and others.

The position in the quadrants indicates the degree of involvement:

Power/interest matrix. (Based on Reed et al., 2009)

Low power/low interest: These actors are currently of little importance for the project. However, keep in mind that interest and/or power of an actor can change over time. Low power/high interest: While these actors have little power, they may be important stakeholders for your project. Often they are directly affected by issues the project tackles, eg local farmers or migrants. Note that this is a big difference to how the power/interest grid is interpreted in corporate contexts. High power/low interest: This group is the most difficult to deal with. These are often ‘gate-keepers’ that can be decisive about a project’s success, but are usually very difficult to get in collaboration with. Sometimes, awareness-raising can make them more interested. Otherwise, strategies are needed that require little engagement from these actors, but keep them satisfied. High power/high interest: These are the actors to clearly engage with in the project.

(2) Mapping of stakeholder relations: Especially in complex, contested systems, it is also important to have an idea on the relationships between the different actors. Mapping actor relations can already be a result on its own, but mainly it helps to design co-production processes in a more effective way. For example: In actor systems showing many conflictive relationships (as in the example shown below), it is recommended to first work with several sub-groups.

Example of a stakeholder mapping: small scale fisheries in southern Chile. (Based on Schneider & Buser, 2003)