What is a
Stakeholder POV?
A
stakeholder is a person or a group with a legitimate
interest in a project, organization, or government action.
(To learn more about Stakeholders, try this
link.)
Stakeholder groups with an interest in deer management include homeowners,
farmers, hunters, foresters, the forest itself, deer, and
businesses (such as insurance companies). Can you
think of other stakeholders? Each of these
groups will be affected by the measures that will be taken
to address the problem, and each wants a “seat at the table”
when options are discussed or decisions are made.
Every stakeholder group has interests that are unique to
them, and every stakeholder group wants to be heard.
Your first job will be to write a persuasive “Point of
View” statement for your stakeholder group that
describes why you are important, how having too many deer (or related problems)
affect you, how the possible solutions affect you personally
and maybe affect your livelihood. You will have two
"bites at this apple." During the second week each
group should really try to build a strong case for their
group's position - based on facts, not just belief.
Think about these questions:
-
Will
the solutions “cost” you in any demonstrable way?
What do you have to give up?
-
Will
the solutions benefit you directly?
-
What
could be done that would make your group more willing to
participate?
-
How
could the solutions be structured so your group would
prosper as a result?
-
What
would happen if you were so harmed by the process that
you disappeared?
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By this time, you have done
quite a bit of research on deer. Now its time to take a stand
for your stakeholder group. Whether you represent farmers,
hunters, foresters, the forest ecosystem, area homeowners, or some
other affected party, the group you represent has a stake in the
management of deer. Your task at this point is to submit a
position paper that represents the point of view of your stakeholder
group. Entries are due by Friday October 28, and will
be posted when you return to school on Monday October 31.
Keep in mind that what you write will
be read by your peers in three other schools, and will be available
for the entire world to read.
We strongly suggest that you write your POV statements in a word
processing program like Word or Notepad, save it, and then copy and
paste into the form below!!
There
are two reasons for this:
-
Sometimes forms fail when you submit them, and it is not fun to
lose your hard work.
-
Your POV should be considered a working document that each group
refines over time; you don't want to keep retyping your
statement -- that's why you have a word processor.
-
If you have trouble with the form, you can email results to
ci@cacaponinstitute.org
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