PoliRural – The importance of stakeholder group work in rural development work
In the PoliRural project, stakeholder participation was a significant part of the activities when innovating new tools for the development of rural policy. The project resulted reason to explore the dynamics of stakeholder work more broadly and to consider it as part of the activities of higher education institutions. This article highlights insights on stakeholder work from the point of view of actors, with an emphasis on rural development networks. Experiences are gathered from the PoliRural project, which has already ended, and from the survey of stakeholders in the Kanta and Päijät-Häme region.
Identifying the right people for stakeholder work is important. The group can be well-defined or based e.g., on recommendations, which was considered one of the good ways to get the right people involved in stakeholder groups according to the survey. Multi-actor stakeholder group who knows the needs of target group are essential for the development work.
Commitment to stakeholder group work is influenced by many factors, such as the person’s motivational factors, position, participation in the activity, role, assigned tasks and the meaningfulness of the activity. Experienced stakeholder group members had slightly more motivation for stakeholder group work than inexperienced members. The stakeholder group itself is already a motivating factor, through which you learn something new and get a new perspective on your own work. The group’s internal motivation includes e.g., openness, equality, working together and an immediate atmosphere. Development projects are hoped that they will purposefully produce concrete and impressive results.
The research publication “The importance of stakeholder group work in rural development work on” is shared at HAMK Unlimited platform in Finnish language.
Lento, S., Löytty, T., Pölönen, I., Anttila, M., Friman, M., Korkiakoski, P. & Salminen, J. (2024). Sidosryhmätyöskentelyn merkitys maaseudun kehittämistyössä. HAMK Unlimited Journal, 26.3.2024
PoliRuralPlus – Multi-Actor Approach
The findings of the study are to be considered in the new Horizon Europe program funded project, PoliRuralPlus.
In Finland, PoliRuralPlus is implemented in Mallusjoki village which locates in Orimattila city region, in Päijät-Häme. The Finnish consortium partners are Mallusjoki Youth Association and Smart & Lean Hub Oy.
Acknowledgement
Smart & Lean 