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Stakeholder management in the context of science based consumer protection

Project

Food and consumer protection

This project contributes to the research aim 'Food and consumer protection'. Which funding institutions are active for this aim? What are the sub-aims? Take a look:
Food and consumer protection


Project code: BfR-RIKO-08-100118
Contract period: 01.10.2015 - 30.10.2018
Purpose of research: Inventory & Assessment
Keywords: stakeholder management, risk assessment for consumer health protection

Stakeholder management has long been established as a key variable for the success of corporations. More recently, its relevance has been discussed for governmental, non-governmental and academic organizations. This builds on longstanding calls for more public participation in governance and societal processes at large, which find their roots in strategic but also normative lines of argumentation. Many argue that such demands also extend to risk analysis organisations, such as the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), with the statutory task to conduct independent risk assessment for consumer health protection. Aim of this project is to use literature reviews, qualitative interviews, quantitative survey, documentary analysis and participant observations to understand facilitators and barriers for successful stakeholder engagement in the context of science based consumer protection. This will be used for scientific knowledge creation but also to develop suggestions for potential improvements within the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.

Based upon a structured review of the stakeholder management literature (442 articles on first level, 63 on second level) and over 40 qualitative interviews with experts from governmental, supra-governmental, non-governmental, corporate, academic and media organizations the first part of the project identifies factors for the successful enactment of stakeholder management. Summarising three sets of planning, process and outcome related factors it shows how normative demands increase outside the purely profit oriented realm resulting in a number of conflicts public organization have to address when managing their stakeholders. To address these, organisations need not only strong leadership but also a clear understanding of their goals and priorities as well as internal and external conditions. The second part of the project will use expert interviews and literature review to discuss challenges for a participatory opening of the risk assessment process. Next to epistemological these include critical, regulative and discursive challenges. In particular, the project points to current contradictions within political and wider societal discourse and lays out the need for a more open debate about what calls for more public participation imply for science, government and society as a whole. In a third step the project triangulates these results with additional data from documentary analysis, participant observations and structured survey of 414 stakeholders and 1004 members of the public to present perceptions of current engagement processes at BfR. It also discusses potential adaptations of these processes focusing on the possible implementation of a stakeholder council or public consultations in particular. In summary, the project holds not only practical implications for BfR but also contributes to scientific as well as prominent political debates.

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Subjects

Framework programme

BMEL Frameworkprogramme 2008

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