Government agencies in Queensland undertake a broad spectrum of policy and service delivery work and operate in different political and organisational contexts. Within this paradigm, each of these organisations will have diverse approaches to stakeholder identification and engagement. This research will show the similarities and differences in approach across nine government agencies.
Given that government agencies interact with a broad range of actors in an effort to satisfy the public interest, this research will reflect on how agencies manage the large and unwieldy task of engaging with stakeholders and what mechanisms they use to achieve this. This study will also provide a snapshot of the developmental trajectory of the stakeholder approach in the agencies by revealing the shifts in how agencies now perceive and deal with stakeholders. Finally this research will provide an indication of whether or not the benefits of engaging with stakeholders outweigh the costs.