Tool for Embedding Stakeholder Engagement in Urban Projects*

A major challenge for cities is determining when and how to initiate stakeholder participation. Often, project teams feel they must have every detail finalized before engaging stakeholders and/or the wider public, leading to missed opportunities for meaningful collaboration. The "Infrastructuring Democracy" canvas helps cities recognize that participation can serve various purposes and methods, and it can be initiated at any stage of a project's lifecycle, ensuring a more inclusive and adaptive approach to urban development.

Objectives of the tool

• Understand stakeholder engagement as an ongoing process inherently connected to the project's lifecycle, whether it’s a policy, strategy, or urban development project.
• Identify key moments in your project where stakeholder engagement is beneficial, determine why it’s important, and design how it should be implemented.

How it works

The Day to Day Lifecycle has been designed as a game, however, it can also be used by a city and a real-life example.

0. Read the scenario case study.

You will find a description of a case study in the resources provided. Read it carefully before starting the game!

1. Start by understanding the context

Work with your group partners to define the conditions that define how responsive the context is in your city. Use the context charts below to define the political, technical and civic context in your hypothetical city. Your task is to choose one of the three options for each parameter to create a scenario for a fictitious city.

2. Build the democratic infrastructure along the initiative lifecycle

Walk through the entire project lifecycle you see on this dashboard for the predefined scenario. Use the charts below to define the democratic infrastructure needed to facilitate the participation and stakeholder engagement necessary at each phase.

In each phase you will have to decide

• Goal: Why do you want to engage stakeholders at this moment?
• Design Choices: How would you like to involve stakeholders at this moment?
• Methods: What method or tool will you use to engage stakeholders?

For Real-Life Application:

Cities can use this tool to map out and structure stakeholder engagement in ongoing or upcoming projects. Follow the same steps outlined in the game, but apply them to the actual context of your city and project.

Iterate and Adapt: As your project progresses, revisit the democratic infrastructure you’ve designed. Adjust your goals, design choices, and methods based on feedback and changing circumstances to maintain effective and meaningful stakeholder engagement throughout the project lifecycle.

Iteration & Experience

• Key to running this workshop is good time management. Make sure participants stay on track and don't wander off too far from their task!
• Use the Engagement Building Block Resource as Inspiration to consider Goals, Design Choices and Methods. A challenge is that there exist many method cards, and often participants don’t know all of them. It might make sense to introduce a couple in the start of the workshop, or/and only selecting a few.