Stakeholder Management and Engagement

Self-Study Certificate Course

Start: Immediate Access
Time Commitment: Around 12 hours
Investment: $150 (or $95 for limited budgets)

When Stakeholder Relationships Make or Break Projects

In humanitarian and development work, project success is amplified by strong stakeholder relationships. When stakeholder management is superficial or minimal, organizations face:

• Project delays and conflicts due to unaligned expectations and competing interests
• Loss of community trust when key voices feel excluded from decision-making
• Wasted efforts when activities fail to align with stakeholder priorities
• Sustainability challenges when projects lack genuine buy-in

This training equips you with systematic approaches to identify, analyze, and engage with stakeholders throughout the project cycle. You'll learn tested approaches for stakeholder mapping and culturally sensitive communication strategies to transform stakeholder insights into better project results.

Through effective stakeholder management, you can:

• Foster collaboration and trust among diverse stakeholder groups
• Align project objectives with community priorities for lasting impact
• Navigate complex power dynamics while maintaining project integrity
• Secure buy-in that supports project sustainability
• Transform potential conflicts into opportunities for innovation
• Build inclusive projects that reflect all stakeholder voices

Who This Is For

This training is for people working in relief, development, or humanitarian contexts who are responsible for engaging with diverse stakeholders. It's ideal for:

• Project managers and officers coordinating multi-stakeholder initiatives
• Field staff working directly with communities and local partners
• Program development teams embedding stakeholder engagement into project design
• M&E professionals incorporating stakeholder perspectives into evaluations
• Anyone responsible for building and maintaining critical project relationships

No prior experience needed—the course delivers clear, practical guidance for newcomers while providing strategic insights and advanced applications for seasoned practitioners.

How You'll Learn

This course offers a self-paced, practical learning experience, combining study materials, reflections, exercises, and end-of-module assessments. Designed around the real-world challenges faced by humanitarian and development professionals, the course encourages you to pause, reflect, and actively develop skills you can confidently apply to your own context as you learn.

Flexible self-study Access practical downloadable video presentations, transcripts, handouts, exercises, templates and tasks, allowing you to learn and apply skills at your own pace.

Knowledge checks Assessments at the end of each module test your understanding, reinforce learning, and help you reflect on key concepts.

Course Discussion Forum Share questions, insights, and challenges with peers. Instructor Neil Kendrick monitors and responds regularly to support your progress.

Certificate of completion Successfully complete all modules and assessments to receive your certificate.

Impact Stories

9.6/10 Rating (based on 35 reviews)

"This course transformed how we approach stakeholder engagement. We now have systematic tools to map and analyze stakeholders, leading to much smoother project implementation and genuine community ownership." — Sarah Martinez, Project Manager, Guatemala

"The power-interest matrix was a game-changer for our team. We finally understood why some projects succeeded while others struggled—it all came down to stakeholder management. Our donor relationships have never been stronger." — Ahmed Ibrahim, Country Director, Jordan

"I wish I'd taken this course years ago. The communication planning module alone saved us from a major conflict with local authorities. We now engage proactively rather than reactively." — Grace Mwangi, Community Engagement Officer, Kenya

Course Details

Includes:

• Lifetime access to comprehensive modules with downloadable videos, handouts, and transcripts
• Practical templates and planning tools for immediate application
• End-of-module assessments and certificate of completion
• Course discussion forum to share insights and questions with peers

Course developed and presented by Neil Kendrick, founder of ELD Impact, with 25+ years of experience training humanitarian professionals across 20+ countries.