Stakeholder Communication Plan

Identify everyone who matters to a program and define a deliberate plan for keeping each informed and bought-in.

When to use

• Starting a program/project and setting up communications.
• Diagnosing why stakeholders feel out of the loop or misaligned.

Inputs to gather

• The program and its phase.
• Known stakeholders/groups (sponsors, leadership, partner teams, users, vendors).
• Existing meetings/channels and any sensitivities.

Process

1. Identify stakeholders — individuals and groups affected by or influential to the work.
2. Assess each on interest (how much they care) and influence (how much power), → quadrant:
   • High influence / high interest → manage closely (frequent, tailored).
   • High influence / low interest → keep satisfied (concise, periodic).
   • Low influence / high interest → keep informed (regular updates).
   • Low influence / low interest → monitor (minimal).
3. For each, define: what they need, why (their concern), cadence, channel, owner, and format.
4. Map to concrete vehicles (steering review, weekly status, newsletter, demo, 1:1) — reuse status-report/exec-summary as the content.
5. Note risks (skeptics, blockers) and an engagement approach for each.

Output format

## Stakeholder Map — {{program}}
| Stakeholder | Influence | Interest | Strategy | Key concern |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

## Communication Plan
| Audience | What they get | Cadence | Channel | Format | Owner |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

Keep it actionable — every row should map to a real, scheduled touchpoint.