Home
Publications
The
Partnerships
Contact
Us
Home
Publications
The
Partnerships
Contact
Us
SURVEYING DIVERSE STAKEHOLDER GROUPSWILLIAM D. LEACH
SOCIETY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, 15(7) AUGUST 2002
ABSTRACT. This paper evaluates three commonly used shortcuts for surveying multi-stakeholder resource management groups. Each shortcut had a significant impact on research results, when tested in a survey administered to 48 watershed partnerships in California and Washington. Surveying only the coordinator led to a picture of the partnership that was more successful, trusting, and pro-environment. Surveying only a single stakeholder category (e.g. federal and state agencies) had a similar effect. Surveying only participants (and excluding knowledgeable observers of each group) resulted in higher estimates of the amount of disagreement among the stakeholders. Studies that fail to sample broadly may lead to an inaccurate or incomplete characterization of the success and dynamics of stakeholder partnerships.