Stakeholder engagement with funding bodies, steering committees and surveys: Benefits for education projects

Marg Rogers, Penelope Baker, Ingrid Harrington
University of New England, Australia
Amy Johnson
Central Queensland University, Australia
Jo Bird and Vanessa Bible
University of New England, Australia

Stakeholder engagement is fundamental to the implementation of effective education research projects. Indeed, funders often partially judge research project applications on the evidence of quality stakeholder engagement. Thus, with high levels of competition for funding in education, and some community members judging successful projects by the reflection of community input, stakeholder engagement is an important area to explore. This discussion paper examines the definitions, as well as the benefits and challenges of stakeholder engagement. The discussion is framed around the current theories of stakeholder engagement and stakeholder management. These theories are used as a lens to view an Australian early childhood education online research project utilising a steering committee, funding bodies and stakeholder surveys. Discussion about the benefits and challenges these inputs bring to a project is situated in the literature. Such discussion will be of interest to those undertaking educational projects and funding.
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Authors: Dr Marg Rogers is a senior lecturer in early childhood education in the School of Education, University of New England, NSW, Australia. Her research interests are in families, military families, professionalism, creative arts education, early childhood technology, communication and language development. Marg teaches in the areas of families in early childhood, communication development and creative arts education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8407-7256 Email: marg.rogers@une.edu.au, mbaber@une.edu.au Professor Penelope Baker, School of Education, University of New England, Australia, leads education and development projects in the Pacific Region. Penelope researches ICT as a teaching tool in mathematics classrooms, curriculum development in developing countries, international partnerships, and building capacity in Pacific Island countries. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6775-178X Email: pep.baker@une.edu.au Dr Ingrid Harrington, School of Education, University of New England, has taught at all levels from K-12 and consults for the NSW Department of Education (DEC) and the Catholic Schools Office (CSO). She leads Professional Development sessions for teachers on classroom behaviour management strategies and inclusive practice. She is well-networked in collaborative research projects in Germany and Malaysia. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1898-4795 Email: iharring@une.edu.au Dr Amy Johnson is a lecturer in journalism and public relations in the School of Education and the Arts, Central Queensland University, Australia. She researches Australian military families, defence engagement and social media. She is an advisor to the Australian Government's Council for Women and Families United by Defence Service. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4228-6265 Email: a.johnson2@cqu.edu.au Dr Jo Bird is a senior lecturer and course coordinator in early childhood education in the School of Education, University of New England, NSW, Australia, with research interests in children's technology-supported learning, play and early childhood leadership. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3345-1815 Email: jo.bird@une.edu.au Dr Vanessa Bible, School of Humanities, University of New England, Australia, is a multidisciplinary scholar of the environmental humanities and works primarily within history and Peace Studies. She was the Research Assistant and Project Officer for the Early Childhood Defence Programs project. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9516-2154 Email: vbible3@une.edu.au Please cite as: Rogers, M., Baker, P., Harrington, I., Johnson, A., Bird, J. & Bible, V. (2022). Stakeholder engagement with funding bodies, steering committees and surveys: Benefits for education projects. Issues in Educational Research, 32(3), 1131-1152. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/rogers.pdf