Managing external stakeholders during unexpected events to ensure project success

Abstract

This study seeks to evaluate how internal stakeholders participating in an international project manage to engage with external stakeholders, to ensure that a participatory approach is carried out during a crisis. To do this, data was retrieved from project documentation and from open-ended interviews on two main actors of the project. The main results of the study reiterate the importance of building a resilient and adaptable work group. On one hand, resilience is essential to face unexpected events with the magnitude of COVID-19, where the operational and work methods are put up to the test and force project teams out of their comfort zone. Partners who had built a resilient work group prior to the pandemic managed to have more interactions and engagement with external stakeholders than those where this did not occur. On the other hand, an adaptable work group must know how to leverage a crisis as an opportunity to use new work methods and, in this case, digitalize processes and operations. This was the case with several members of the project, who adjusted the interactive and participative dynamics to the digital tools and subsequently succeeded in the external stakeholder engagement.

Date of Award	13 Jul 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Eleonora Monaco (Supervisor)