A brilliant technical plan can still sink a project if the people affected by it were never properly identified, consulted or kept on side. Stakeholders shape a project's goals and outcomes far more than most schedules admit, and ignoring that reality – rather than managing it deliberately – is one of the most common reasons projects lose momentum.

The Training Course in Managing and Engaging Project Stakeholders, designed by the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy, introduces participants to the skills needed to identify, understand and communicate effectively with everyone who has a stake in a project's success.

Who Should Attend?

• Senior executives and project and program managers.
• Members and teams of project management offices.
• Project stakeholders and supervisors.
• Anyone with a professional interest in the field.

Knowledge and Benefits:

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the key approaches to stakeholder management and analyse their interests and level of impact.
• Discuss the main methods of effective influence, and apply psychological communication theory to project and program management.
• Analyse which negotiation techniques suit a particular situation, and design a strategy to engage stakeholders.
• Establish communication channels with stakeholders and manage conflicts as they arise.

• Module 1: Understanding Stakeholders and Why They Matter
  • Theoretical and practical definitions of a project stakeholder.
  • Why identifying stakeholders early matters for the project's outcome.
• Module 2: Classifying and Mapping Project Stakeholders
  • Internal stakeholders: the project manager, the project team, owners and investors.
  • External stakeholders: creditors, customers, suppliers, the local community, government and sponsors.
  • Classifying and arranging stakeholders by their influence on the project.
• Module 3: Core Skills for Managing Stakeholders
  • Technical skills needed to work with different stakeholder groups.
  • Managerial skills for coordinating stakeholder expectations.
  • Human skills: empathy, listening and relationship-building.
• Module 4: Communication, Conflict and Negotiation
  • Managing ongoing communication with project stakeholders.
  • Strategies for managing differences and disagreements with stakeholders.
  • Negotiating with stakeholders, and selecting the right approach for each case.
• Module 5: Leading, Engaging and Building Trust
  • Choosing the best way to lead and influence different stakeholders.
  • Creating a communications plan and a management plan for stakeholder participation.
  • Assessing participation using the evaluation matrix, and building trust with remote stakeholders.
• Module 6: Technology and Real-World Applications
  • Using modern technology to manage project stakeholders.
  • Practical applications and case studies from real companies.