Stakeholder

After reading this page

• you've learned what a Stakeholder is
• you've learned about Stakeholders in the Tygron Engine
• you've learned about the differences between Stakeholders
• you've learned which types of Stakeholder are available
• you've learned how to change properties of existing stakeholders, and how to add or remove stakeholders from the game

File:Stakeholder1.jpg

1: What is a stakeholder?

A stakeholder is a person, group or organization that has interest or concern in a project or area. Stakeholders can affect or can be affected by the project's actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are municipal and other authorities, companies, project developers, the water board and the community in an area. Not all stakeholders are equal; the municipality is usually in charge of livability in an area, which is often no concern for a project developer or water board.

An example of impact on stakeholders in an area is when a company needs to cut costs and plans a round of layoffs. This negatively affects the community of workers, the inhabitants in the area, and therefore the local economy. A project developer that plans a large commercial building may run into objections from the inhabitants as they are concerned about the lack of parking areas in their neighborhood. The municipality may require heat stress compensation in the plans, and the water board would like to see such a large concrete structure to better cope with excess rainfall to avoid any flooding.

2: How do stakeholders relate to the Tygron Engine?

The Tygron Engine streamlines the planning process by bringing the actual stakeholder roles from the real world into our multiplayer gaming environment. Users can then select which role they want to play, in order to experiment, plan and negotiate better solutions for spatial planning, urban designs and development projects. Users can select the role they fulfill in real life, or select any of the other available stakeholders to learn about the 'other side's' interests and concerns. In the Tygron engine, the stakeholder’s interests and concerns are reflected in the indicators. With actions a stakeholder can affect the indicators and thus the game's outcome in a total score.

3: Different stakeholders have different interests and concerns.

As mentioned above, different stakeholders have different interests (indicators) and concerns (importance). In the Tygron Engine each stakeholder is defined by it's indicators, importance and available actions. A Project Developer will prioritize it's profit margin, while a Housing Corporation will focus on reaching it's housing target and will be less (or not at all) focused on making any profit. Some stakeholders have a large budget but lack (ownership of) property to perform their actions on, others have the tools (actions) and property but lack the financial means to fulfill their objectives. By negotiating with each other, stakeholders are to search for any common grounds, in order to fulfill their individual and collective targets of the game.

4: Which types of stakeholder are available in the Tygron Engine?

Predefined stakeholders are available in the Tygron Engine. Not all these stakeholders have to be present and not all have to be playable either. Some stakeholders can be present in the game area without actually being playable. This can be, for example, because their impact on the issues in the area is minimal, or they are only marginally involved/ concerned. These Non Playable Stakeholders can be represented by a Game Facilitator during a session.

One stakeholder sticks out because this role has direct impact on the other stakeholders; municipality has a specific action to take - building/ zoning permit approval - that has a huge impact on game play for the other participants.

The following stakeholders are available for users to add to their game:

4.1 Civilian

These are the inhabitants of the game area. As individual they have a limited impact and concern, however, to have a project carried from the bottom up, participation from the inhabitants is essential.

4.2 Company

This private entity has a profit objective, and is also growing and expanding it's market.

4.2 Education

Educational organizations can have a huge impact on the game area, with, for example, a rising demand for Student Housing and the impact on Quality of Life.

4.4 Expert

Sometimes expert advise and participation is required to resolve a complex spatial planning challenge.

4.5 Farmer

Farms usually occupy a large area and they also have a big impact on their surroundings.

4.6 Healthcare

Hospitals and clinics have a direct impact on their surroundings; they are usually big employers and have a huge demand for special supplies.

4.7 Housing Corporation

Being responsible for enough housing units in the game area, the housing corporation plays a big role in spatial planning.

4.8 Municipality

The municipality is the Stakeholder with the main responsibility for the building permits. They are also in charge of the livibility in the area. The municipality is also responsible for the management of the public spaces, including sewers and roads.

4.9 Media

Newspapers and other media play a big part in communicating plans to other playable and non playable stakeholders.

4.10 Project Developer

The Project Developer has to make profit by building commercial constructions, such as shops and industry.

4.11 Waterboard

This semi governmental body is responsible for water management in the game area. Usually the waterboard has no property in ownership and needs to negotiate with other stakeholders to be able to perform any actions.

4.12 Other Authority

Sometimes a provincial or national/ federal (or even international) body of authority is also active in the game area.

4.13 Other

In case a specific unlisted stakeholder is required, this option can be customized.

5: What properties does a stakeholder have in the Tygron Engine?

The stakeholders available in the Tygron Engine have all a set of properties that can be adjusted. These properties can all be found on the Stakeholder Panel in the Tygron Engine Editor.

Tygron Engine Editor -> Editor Top Bar Menu -> Stakeholders -> Stakeholders

Besides adding and removing stakeholders on this panel, the following properties are available for adjustment:

5.1 Stakeholders

In this field a stakeholder can be selected, added or removed. The options to add and remove are available in a context menu after right clicking in this field.

5.2 Name

In this field the full name of a stakeholder can be entered.

5.3 Short Name

When a stakeholder's name is very long, a short version can be entered here, which will be used in instances in game with limited space.

5.4 Color

The selected color will indicate the stakeholder's property on the ownership overlay. By clicking and holding the left mouse button on this field, another color can be selected from a context menu.

5.5 Type

Here the type of stakeholder can be changed by selecting an option from the drop down menu.

5.6 Playable

This selection box marks if the stakeholder can be selected for play or not. Non playable stakeholders can be represented by a session facilitator.

5.7 Image

By clicking on the image, a second panel will open from where another image for the stakeholder can be selected. This can be a generic image or users can add custom assets - such as a company's logo - to their game, as long as the image (.png/.jpg) adheres to the size requirement of 80x80 pixels.

5.8 Draw Ownership

By selecting this option, the ownership of property of the stakeholder can be drawn in the 3D world using the previously selected color.

5.9 Description

In this field the introduction text can be entered for the stakeholder. This text is displayed as introduction at the start of a game session, when a player selects the stakeholder.

5.10 Assignment

After selection of a stakeholder, the player can be given a specific assignment related to the indicators and importance. This can be entered after switching to the 'Level 1' tab.

5.11 Stakeholder Indicators

On the same 'Level 1' tab, by right clicking on the Indicators field, specific indicators can be activated or deactivated for the selected stakeholder.

5.12 Budget Increment At Start

Last, but not least, on the 'Level 1' tab the option is available to give a stakeholder a starting budget.