To ensure that a project is sustainable in the long-term, it is essential that all stakeholders are identified, mapped and consulted to the appropriate degree. Early stakeholder engagement ensures that any issues that may arise over the course of the project are foreseen as far as possible, and the ongoing value of the project is maintained. With proper stakeholder involvement, dredging contractors can foster collaboration, ensure environmental protection, and promote economic and social benefits.

Understanding Stakeholders in Dredging Projects

Stakeholders in dredging projects can be broadly categorised into three main groups: environmental stakeholders, social stakeholders, and economic stakeholders. Each group has different interests and concerns that must be taken into consideration when planning and executing dredging projects.

Stakeholder engagement: Three-step process

When considering the topic of stakeholder involvement, the Dredging for Sustainable Infrastructure philosophy proposes a three step process: identification, assessment and strategy development. Generally speaking, this process can be followed for any major infrastructure project, dredging or otherwise.

Step 1: Stakeholder identification

The decision which stakeholders should be involved in a project development process is a strategic choice. In general, people should be involved if they have information that cannot be gained otherwise, or if their participation is necessary to assure successful implementation of the initiative. 

Normally, stakeholders are identified through structured brainstorming sessions by the project initiators, taking into account both existing networks, as well as new actors identified through public hearings. Considering the innovative nature of responsible marine solutions, an open-minded approach to involving interested stakeholders is recommended - particularly those stakeholders who may not have been considered initially. 

A good example of this is the kite-surfing community that developed around the Dutch Sand Engine project. They were not identified upfront, but became a vital and important contributor to the integral success of the project.

Step 2: Stakeholder assessment

Once the stakeholders have been identified as far as possible, the next stage is to assess their needs, arguments and importance to the success and sustainability of the project. Almost always, there will be a range of opinions and levels of enthusiasm for the project, as well as differing degrees of importance. For example, the position of a regulatory body would carry more weight than that of a member of the public who owns a holiday home in the vicinity of the project site. 

With that in mind, it is important to identify the role of different stakeholders in the envisaged project development, so that specific management strategies can be utilised for their involvement. Stakeholder analysis can easily be done using stakeholder matrices, such as ‘power versus interest’.

When starting a project, it is important to realise that any development will touch upon pre-existing issues and interests and that these should be taken into account.

In this context, the words ‘issue’ and ‘interest’ should be interpreted in the broadest sense possible: anything possibly impacting a person or organisation, now or in future, and relevant in the light of the specific agenda of each stakeholder. Whereas every stakeholder has an interest, not every one of them has the power to change or modify project development and/or relevant decision-making. Power can come in a variety of forms, such as political decision- making power, legal power, access to specific resources, or the power to block certain developments through media access. Power can be seen as the degree of influence on the decision-making and implementation process. Therefore, it is important to assess the power of stakeholders at an early stage of the process in order to get support from powerful actors, but also to be aware of powerful potential adversaries.

While the first instinct of project developers might be to look towards the negative impacts from certain stakeholder groups, it is important to note that, in many cases, active stakeholder engagement has been found to enrich an envisaged development. Stakeholders often have access to specific relevant knowledge, perspectives and resources that contribute to better ideas and better designs, meaning they may enhance the quality of the design and overall outcomes.

Step 3: Strategy development

Once the various stakeholder groups have been assessed and mapped, the final stage is to develop an engagement strategy. Time and resources are, of course, limited, so a clear strategy is needed to get the most value out of engagement activities. Building on the ‘Power v Interest’ matrix above, project teams can attribute the appropriate form of engagement, as seen below.

With a clear understanding of the stakeholder ecosystem, resources and tools available, the sustainability of a dredging project can be maximised.