What are the challenges of managing stakeholder engagement in government?

Government entities have a mandate to serve the public and ensure citizen involvement in spending decisions. They face challenges in securely managing sensitive information while maintaining transparency and accountability.  

The complexity of public sector stakeholder engagement and public scrutiny can create uncertainty about where to begin. 

Who do governments engage with?

Governments interact with a wide range of stakeholders across various sectors and departments. 

For instance, infrastructure development and energy or mineral management departments must engage numerous external stakeholders to gain support and ensure project success. Similarly, health and education departments coordinate with both internal and external stakeholders throughout policy and program development. 

This broad and ongoing engagement also spans many other areas, reflecting the complex stakeholder landscape governments must navigate. 

What are some examples of the challenges of managing stakeholder engagement in government?

Stakeholder conversations occur continuously, generating a constant flow of incoming information that can be difficult to track.  

Third parties often communicate on the government's behalf, making it essential to stay informed about all interactions.  

To prevent important details from being overlooked, especially amid urgent update requests from senior staff or ministers, managing stakeholder engagement can become overly complex and overwhelming. 

Government departments face a variety of complex challenges in managing stakeholder engagement across different areas, including: 

• Managing engagement with license holders: Departments overseeing regulated industries, such as farming, liquor, or gambling, must engage with numerous license holders, monitor site visits, and track all related communications. 
• Gaining buy-in and fostering ownership: Securing support from external organizations is essential for successful policy or program rollout. For example, departments focused on reducing nicotine dependence need close collaboration with health organizations to build ownership and promote effective outcomes. 
• Indigenous engagement: Governments in countries like Canada, the US, and Australia have ongoing obligations to consult Indigenous or Tribal communities. Effective engagement requires sustained collaboration to ensure Indigenous voices are genuinely heard and incorporated. 
• Regulatory compliance: Managing development activities on federally owned land often involves strict regulatory requirements. This includes submitting permits and conducting public hearings, with thorough documentation of all engagements before and during projects to satisfy public interest and legal standards. 
• Preventing stakeholder fatigue: Engagement efforts sometimes rely on third-party contractors who maintain their databases, creating silos of information inaccessible to government teams. Without centralized stakeholder management, stakeholders may be repeatedly contacted by different parties unaware of prior engagements, leading to frustration, fatigue, and erosion of trust. 
• Contextualizing stakeholder roles: Stakeholders often have multiple roles, such as serving on advisory councils while also holding leadership positions in organizations. Tracking each stakeholder's specific role relative to each engagement is critical to analyzing insights and accurately informing decision-making. 
• Managing constituent correspondence: Organized letter-writing campaigns pose challenges for government teams that must systematically log, respond to, and maintain records of constituent communications. 
• Managing urgent information requests: Preparing briefing notes or session binders for ministers may require rapid turnaround times, including in-session requests. Responding efficiently depends on centralized, searchable, and exportable access to all relevant information. 
• Ensuring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Governments must actively include diverse groups, particularly marginalized communities, in their engagement efforts. Analyzing participation data to identify gaps and underrepresented groups can be difficult, but it is essential for equitable stakeholder inclusion. 

What is the best way to improve stakeholder engagement in government?

The best way to improve stakeholder engagement in government is by using specialized stakeholder relationship management (SRM) software. 

Jambo is a trusted SRM solution designed to help government teams efficiently and securely manage stakeholder and community contacts and engagement data. Using Jambo, governments can streamline engagement processes, reduce administrative burdens, and enhance overall engagement effectiveness. 

What is the best stakeholder engagement software for governments?

Jambo is a secure SRM software used by numerous North American federal, provincial/state, local/municipal, and Crown corporation governments. Government departments and agencies trust Jambo to efficiently manage and report on all their stakeholder and community engagement data.  

With strong, long-term partnerships and multi-year contracts, Jambo continues to expand its presence within governments, often growing through internal referrals across projects and departments.  

The Jambo team also possesses extensive knowledge of government procurement processes, helping ensure a smooth purchase and rollout for government customers.  

Why do governments trust Jambo SRM?

Jambo stands out as a trusted stakeholder engagement software for government departments and agencies due to several key strengths: 

Jambo securely consolidates all engagement data in one location, allowing government teams to access and review information anytime. This centralized approach improves efficiency by keeping everyone aligned. 

Jambo's reporting tools streamline the creation of detailed engagement reports for legal review, ministerial briefings, and public accountability. By centralizing data, Jambo enables rapid insights and quick responses to urgent information requests. Teams can produce comprehensive reports in seconds, offering clear documentation of stakeholder interactions, including dates and communication details. 

With customizable user roles and confidential contractor access, Jambo protects sensitive data while enabling secure collaboration with third parties. This mitigates risks that are common with less-controlled platforms like SharePoint. 

Jambo breaks down data silos by centralizing stakeholder information, enhancing collaboration across projects and teams. Its global view and subprojects features help manage multiple projects simultaneously and support strategic engagement or resource planning. 

By maintaining comprehensive profiles of stakeholders with all past communications, Jambo ensures government teams deliver consistent messages and avoid miscommunication. This builds trust and demonstrates attentive, informed engagement. 

Jambo is designed to meet stringent federal and provincial/state data security, privacy, and residency regulations. It continuously improves its security protocols and offers localized data centers to ensure compliance and data sovereignty. 

Jambo's user-centric design and onboarding process enable fast onboarding and high user adoption. The Jambo customer success team includes stakeholder engagement experts who guide governments through implementation, optimizing use and ensuring success. 

Jambo offers immutable records of all data changes through audit trails and change history, allowing governments to demonstrate authentic and transparent engagement efforts. 

How do I find out more about Jambo?

Interested in learning more about Jambo's stakeholder engagement software? Schedule a 15-minute call with our team today to explore how we can help support your government's success.