Maximizing Research Impact in Higher Education: An Approach to Identify Essential Stakeholders and Ensure Use-Inspired Outcomes

Abstract

A growing consensus suggests that scientific research should be use-inspired, thereby addressing the contemporary needs of society. Various studies and perspectives from different disciplines and industries underscore stakeholder engagement as essential to facilitate that objective. A structured process is presented that includes defining goals, identifying key stakeholders, brainstorming, consulting experts, stakeholder mapping, engaging with stakeholders, and adjusting plans to reflect stakeholder feedback. Involving stakeholders early in an initiative facilitates numerous benefits, including improved decision-making, greater stakeholder buy-in, improved problem identification, tailored solutions, risk mitigation, transparency, credibility, faster implementation, and potential for innovative ideas. An example of a stakeholder identification process is provided to strengthen research proposal development. This article is for researchers, practitioners, or businesses seeking guidance to better integrate stakeholders in their work or organization. The article is also intended for professionals entering the workforce who wish to include stakeholders to ensure tangible outcomes. Effective stakeholder prioritization requires a balanced and adaptive strategy that considers environmental resource, economic, and societal factors, ensuring solutions meet critical concerns within each industry's unique ecosystem and human needs. This article provides a decision-making framework to enhance research credibility by identifying essential stakeholder perspectives, making research outcomes more effective and impactful.