I am still working with my colleagues for input on our action plan/stakeholder engagement plan. A big question mark for this is some management changes that make formalizing plans a bit challenging during this transition. While I am not in a research setting, I expect that this is a very similar challenge that other learners in this course face–whether it is shifts in management, priorities, or funding (or all of the above). The approach I am taking (with other colleagues) is to lay out our suggestions and outline for a plan so that we are prepared and ready to discuss this with our leadership team. One key challenge we have identified centers on communication and outreach–strategies that keep partners and stakeholder engaged in the long-term. Refining our communication strategy is one of the key focus areas for this transition period, and I am personally working to ensure this incorporates stakeholder engagement strategies that I have learned about in this course.
I wouldn’t say this so much changed, but rather reinforced my thinking/understanding of GPP and the fact that GPP approaches have a role and are extremely valuable even outside of the research/trial context. It did surprise me a bit in the course of the training that many of the questions that flagged for me are things that I have already been in process of thinking through with colleagues–now it is just a question of putting together an actionable plan to better incorporate stakeholder engagement into the core principles of our organization and its operations.
