Webinar Report: Enhancing Effective Stakeholder Engagement (ADI 2025)

NASAC organized its second 2025 Academy Development Initiative (ADI 2025) webinar on 26^th June 2025 titled “Enhancing Effective Stakeholder Engagement”. The webinar was attended by approximately 30 participants from African Science Academy secretariats.

Dr. Jackie Kado, the Executive Director of NASAC, welcomed participants to the webinar and emphasized its importance for academies’ relevance and impact. She introduced the session as a focus on a deepening of stakeholder relationships and a measurement of engagement impact for science academies. She invited Ms. Mispah Mamah, a Research Officer from the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, to deliver the keynote address.

Mispah’s presentation highlighted the significance of the event as a capacity-building initiative and expressed gratitude to NASAC for organizing the webinar, which she noted as an example of effective stakeholder engagement. She outlined the three-section discussion that would dissect definitions, strategies, impact measurement, identification and analysis, planning and design, engagement and communication, evaluation and finally reflection. She emphasized the importance of understanding stakeholder expectations, priorities, and communication preferences, as well as clarifying the role stakeholders are expected to play. She also stressed the need for clarity, transparency, inclusivity, active listening, and accountability in stakeholder interactions and highlighted the importance of using new technologies to enhance engagement efforts and aligning stakeholder engagement activities with the strategic vision of the science academy. She gave examples of engagement activities undertaken by her academy, Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, with the Government, private sector and civil society.

During the Q&A session, participants explored frameworks for identifying, analysing, and engaging stakeholders. Dr. Kado and Mispah both emphasized the importance of maintaining organizational independence while fostering impactful relationships. The need for academies to track and monitor stakeholder engagement to ensure continued influence and public trust was also discussed.

The webinar concluded with insights on measuring the impact of stakeholder engagements and a call for continued collaboration among science academies and scientists to amplify Africa’s scientific voice and advance sustainable development goals. The next ADI session will be held on the 4th of September 2025 at 3:00 pm.