[De]Constructing Stakeholder Maps
For better or for worse, policy jargon appears simple, sounds simple, but does not work so simply.
I joke about understanding the word “policy” less after finishing this degree than when I started it, but it’s really only half a joke. A Derrida quote frequently brought up in my English degree that I always come back to is, “ Il n’y a pas de hors-texte,” which translates roughly to “there is nothing outside the text.” I don’t really see meaning as being separable from contexts, whether in policy or literature.
The necessity of properly identifying stakeholders is just one example of my academic experience in this field. However, proper stakeholder identification is crucial to having real impact in policy.
Often, “stakeholder engagement” is just viewed as a checkbox or a threshold to cross over.
However, working on our stakeholder engagement assignment, and seeing how this process played out in the real world with the laneway suites process gave me a much more nuanced and appreciative perspective on the topic. These groups aren’t static, and identifying and targeting them in anticipation of reactions deserve proper attention across projects if one wants to get it off the ground in a meaningful way.
On the note of language, too, I found the branding of laneway “suites” over laneway “housing” to be a particularly efficient use of language and appreciated the deliberate nature in which it was brought up in the engagement process. Although it’s quite sad that “housing” has a negative connotation in certain communities, recognizing this and branding them as “suites” gave the project a sheen that was ultimately extremely effective in getting off the ground.
Other than that, I had a great time on the trip last week. Language is cool, policy is cool, laneway suites are cool. I was a little conflicted on whether or not I wanted to use a photo of my Reuben from What A Bagel as my blog photo, but I liked how goofy my walking was in this photo so there we go.
