Stakeholder

After reading this page

• you learned what a Stakeholder is
• you learned about Stakeholders in the Tygron Engine
• you learned about the differences between Stakeholders
• you learned which Stakeholders are available

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What is a stakeholder?

A stakeholder is a person, group or organization that has interest or concern in a project. Stakeholders can affect or can be affected by the project's actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community which the project affects. Not all stakeholders are equal. Customers are entitled to fair trading practices but they are not entitled to the same consideration as employees are.

An example of a negative 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 in the area and therefore the local economy. Someone owning shares in a business such as Microsoft is positively affected, for example, when the company releases a new device and sees their profit and therefore stock price rise.

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.

Different stakeholders with different interests and concerns

As mentioned above, different stakeholders have different interests and concerns. These can be noticeable in many different areas. In the Tygron engine, each stakeholder is defined by it's concerns and available actions. A Project Developer will prioritize it's profit margin, while a Housing Cooperation will focus on reaching it's housing target and will be less (or not) focused on making any profit. Some stakeholders have a large budget, but lack property to perform their actions on, others have the tools 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 goals of the game.

Which stakeholders are available in the Tygron Engine?

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

* 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.

• Company

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

• 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.

• Expert

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

• Farmer

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

• Healthcare

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

• Housing Corporation

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

• 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.

• Media

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

• Project Developer

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

• Water Board

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

• Other Authority

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

• Other

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

Not all 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 - zoning permit approval - that has a huge impact on game play for the other participants.