Effective stakeholder engagement and consultation are essential for governments and organisations to maintain transparency, compliance, and accountability. As projects grow in complexity and the number of stakeholders increases, managing engagement data manually or with generic tools can be challenging. Risks associated with such approaches include regulatory non-compliance, stakeholder disengagement, and project delays.
Stakeholder management software is designed to help organisations and governments mitigate these risks by centralising data, documenting all interactions, issues, and commitments, and providing comprehensive reporting. These tools support teams in meeting regulatory requirements and fostering inclusive engagement processes, with clear audit trails that enable comprehensive documentation of stakeholder input.
What is stakeholder management software?
Stakeholder management software is specialised software for managing stakeholder interactions and consultation data. This article summarises the features and differences between two stakeholder management platforms: Jambo and Tractivity.
Jambo stakeholder management software
Jambo is an international stakeholder management software platform purpose-built for organisations and government teams focused on stakeholder and community engagement and consultation. It enables centralised management of stakeholder data, communication tracking, issue and commitment management, and regulatory compliance documentation. The platform offers:
- Centralised contact and communication management
- Project-based workspaces with extensive user permissions
- Engagement tools, including a team planning calendar, campaigns, and secure AI
- Issue and commitment tracking
- Advanced analytics, custom dashboards, and pre-built and configurable reporting
- Integrations with Outlook, Esri ArcGIS Pro, Zapier and an API
- Accessibility features aligned with WCAG 2.1 Level A standards
- Available in English and French
- ISO 27001 and ISO 27017 certifications; hosted on AWS in the desired data centre
Jambo operates globally with offices in Canada, Ireland, and Croatia. Data centres across multiple regions, including Canada, the US, Australia, and the EEA, are available to address data sovereignty considerations.
Tractivity stakeholder management software
Tractivity is a UK-based stakeholder management system. According to its website, it serves private- and public-sector organisations in the UK, Europe, and beyond, with listed customers including NHS Trusts, energy companies, UK transportation organisations, and UK educational institutions. The platform offers:
- Centralised stakeholder database and mapping
- Multi-project management with role-based access and permissions
- Engagement tools, including surveys, email campaigns, and events
- Feedback and issue management
- Pre-built reports and built-in interactive dashboards
- Integrations with Microsoft Teams, Mapolitical, Google Maps, Office 365, and an API
- ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditations; hosted on Microsoft Azure
Source: tractivity.co.uk; tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/a-few-of-the-benefits; tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/service-and-support
Overview of the differences between Jambo and Tractivity
1. User interface and accessibility
Jambo uses a project-based structure, with projects serving as workspaces that enable complete data segmentation by project, department, or division. User permissions are controlled at the project level, and reporting is project-based by default, with an option to report globally across the organisation or government department as needed. Jambo's interface meets WCAG 2.1 Level A accessibility standards, ensuring the platform is usable across a range of accessibility needs. Jambo is mobile-responsive, meaning it is accessible on any device with an internet connection.
Tractivity supports multi-project management with role-based access and permissions. The platform is cloud-based and accessible from any device with a modern web browser. Tractivity's website does not reference WCAG accessibility standards or equivalent accessibility certifications.
Tractivity source: tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/a-few-of-the-benefits
2. Reporting and analytics
Jambo Insights provides advanced analytics that generate visualisations, including KPI trackers, pie charts, and bar charts. Users can combine these elements to create their own custom project dashboards and track team KPIs and project performance in real time. Jambo also offers a range of out-of-the-box reports, with the option to customise them to meet specific needs. Reports can be exported in Excel or PDF formats.
Tractivity offers over 100 pre-built reports, including data tables, matrix reports, and visual graphs, which can be filtered. Built-in interactive dashboards display KPI outputs and trends over time. Tractivity's website does not describe the ability for users to create their own custom dashboards or configure report layouts beyond the pre-built options.
Tractivity source: tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/a-few-of-the-benefits
3. Customisation and scalability
Jambo provides extensive configuration options, including custom fields, categories, tags, and dashboards. User roles include a contractor access role that limits users to adding their own data. Its project-based setup supports scaling from single projects to full organisational rollouts, with global and department-level overview options.
Tractivity supports multi-project management with role-based access. Tractivity's website does not provide details on creating custom fields, configuring user-created dashboards, or implementing tiered user roles beyond standard access controls.
Tractivity source: tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/a-few-of-the-benefits; tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/service-and-support
4. Support and customer success
Jambo's customer success team is made up of professionals with direct experience in stakeholder engagement, including staff with IAP2 certifications, the internationally recognised standard for public participation practitioners. This means Jambo's support team understands not just the software but also the discipline of stakeholder engagement. Jambo has both North American and European customer success team members, and support is available from 9am to 11pm UK time, covering both North American and UK time zones.
Tractivity provides dedicated UK-based account managers who can be contacted by telephone or email during UK business hours. Onboarding is conducted online, supported by monthly webinar sessions and an online knowledge base. Tractivity's website does not reference any stakeholder engagement sector qualifications or certifications held by its support team.
Tractivity source: tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/service-and-support
6. Global presence, data sovereignty, and localisation
Jambo has offices in Canada, Ireland, and Croatia, with customers in Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. Dedicated data centres are available in multiple regions, including a dedicated EEA data centre, enabling organisations to select the region that meets their regulatory and data sovereignty requirements. The platform is available in English and French, and offers account-level localisation settings for currency, time zone, date display, and number format.
Tractivity is UK-based, and its website describes its customer base as the UK, Europe, and beyond. The customer logos shown include organisations in the UK across the energy, transport, healthcare, and government sectors. Tractivity's website does not list any non-UK offices, state where its data centres are located, or reference multilingual support or account-level localisation options such as currency or time zone configuration.
Tractivity source: tractivity.co.uk
7. AI tools and data policy
Jambo offers a suite of purpose-built, secure AI tools. These include AI Sentiment Analysis, which automatically analyses the sentiment of stakeholder interactions, and AI Summarize, which generates clear summaries of communication records. Jambo also includes rules-based automation features, such as duplicate information detection and stakeholder creation when using the Outlook add-in. Jambo has an explicit, published AI policy that user data is never used to train AI models, an important consideration for organisations and governments handling sensitive consultation data.
Tractivity's website describes three features under the heading AI-Powered Stakeholder Management: stakeholder detection via its Outlook plug-in, duplicate record prevention, and survey response analysis. The first two, contact matching and duplicate flagging, are consistent with rules-based automation, a category of features that Jambo also provides. The third, survey response analysis, involves summarising and categorising text feedback, which Tractivity describes as AI-driven. Across all three features, Tractivity does not publish any policy on whether customer or stakeholder data is used to train AI models, which is a meaningful gap for organisations with data governance obligations.
Tractivity source: tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/a-few-of-the-benefits
8. Security and compliance
Jambo holds ISO 27001 and ISO 27017 certifications. ISO 27017 is a cloud-specific security standard that provides additional controls for cloud service providers and customers. This certification is distinct from ISO 27001 alone and reflects a higher bar for cloud security governance. Jambo is hosted on AWS, which is SOC 2-compliant, and is monitored 24/7/365. Jambo's data centres across multiple regions support organisations and governments with specific data residency requirements, including a dedicated EEA data centre.
Tractivity holds ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditations. Cyber Essentials Plus is a UK government-backed scheme focused on foundational cybersecurity hygiene. Tractivity is hosted on Microsoft Azure and is monitored 24/7/365 by a security operations team. Tractivity does not reference ISO 27017 certification, and its website does not provide information on data centre locations or data residency options.
Tractivity source: tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/a-few-of-the-benefits; tractivity.co.uk/stakeholder-management-platform/service-and-support
9. Pricing
The Jambo Professional subscription, which includes 5 users and 20 projects, starts at $995 per month. Enterprise pricing is available on request.
Tractivity's pricing is not publicly available on its website.
Tractivity source: tractivity.co.uk
Jambo vs Tractivity comparison table
|
Feature/criteria |
Jambo |
Tractivity |
|
User interface |
Project-based data segmentation and reporting. Role-based permissions at the project level. Meets WCAG 2.1 Level A accessibility standards. Mobile-responsive. |
Multi-project management with role-based access and permissions. Cloud-based; accessible from any modern web browser. Tractivity's website does not reference WCAG accessibility standards. |
|
Reporting and analytics |
Configurable reports, unlimited user-created custom dashboards (Jambo Insights), multiple export formats, and real-time visual analytics. |
100+ pre-built reports, built-in interactive dashboards. Tractivity's website does not describe how to create a custom dashboard. |
|
Customisation and scalability |
Custom fields, categories, tags, and custom dashboards. Multiple user roles, including a contractor access role. Scalable from single projects to full organisational rollout. |
Role-based access and permissions across projects. Tractivity's website does not detail the creation of custom fields or tiered user roles beyond standard access controls. |
|
Geographic presence |
Global. Offices in Canada, Ireland, and Croatia. Customers in Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Data centres in Canada, the US, Australia, and the EEA. |
UK-based. Customers described as UK, Europe, and beyond. No non-UK offices listed. No information on data centre locations outside the UK. |
|
Language support |
English and French. |
Not stated on the website. |
|
Integrations |
Dedicated EEA data centre available. Data centre region selectable at account setup. |
No information on data centre locations or data sovereignty options is available on the website. |
|
Data soverignty |
Microsoft Outlook, Esri ArcGIS Pro, Zapier. API available. |
Microsoft Teams, Mapolitical, Google Maps, Google Address Lookup, and Office 365 email. API available. |
|
Support and customer success |
Customer success team with IAP2 certifications and stakeholder engagement backgrounds. North American and European account managers. Monthly webinars, online knowledge base, and helpdesk. Support available 9am–11pm UK time. |
UK-based account managers are contactable during UK working hours. Online onboarding. Monthly webinar sessions and online knowledge base. No information on the support team's stakeholder engagement sector qualifications. |
| Security certifications |
ISO 27001 and ISO 27017 certified. EU and UK GDPR-compliant. |
ISO 27001 certified and Cyber Essentials Plus accredited. GDPR compliance management within the platform. |
|
AI tools and policy |
Jambo Secure AI includes AI Sentiment analysis and AI Summarize. Rules-based automation includes duplication alerts and stakeholder creation via Outlook add-in. Explicit policy: user data is never used to train AI models. |
Features described as AI include: stakeholder detection via Outlook plug-in, duplicate record prevention, and survey response analysis. No AI data usage or training policy is published on the website. |
|
Pricing |
Professional plan from $995/month (5 users, 20 projects). Enterprise pricing on request. |
Not publicly available on the website. |
Key considerations when evaluating stakeholder management software
Both Jambo and Tractivity offer core stakeholder management capabilities, including stakeholder databases, engagement tracking, reporting, and project management. When evaluating the two platforms, teams may wish to consider the following:
- Global operations and data residency: Jambo offers dedicated data centres in multiple regions, including the EEA, and has offices in Canada, Ireland, and Croatia. Tractivity's website does not disclose data centre locations or data sovereignty options.
- Multilingual requirements: Jambo is available in English and French. Tractivity does not reference language support beyond English on its website.
- Specialist support: Jambo's customer success team includes IAP2-certified professionals with stakeholder engagement backgrounds. Tractivity's support team qualifications are not described on its website.
- AI security and data governance: Jambo publishes an explicit policy that user data is not used to train AI models. Tractivity does not publish an equivalent policy.
- Cloud security: Jambo holds ISO 27001 and ISO 27017 (a cloud-specific standard). Tractivity holds ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus.
- Support hours: Jambo provides support from 9am to 11pm UK time. Tractivity's account managers are available only during UK business hours.
