Stakeholder Power and Interest Grid
A power and interest grid sorts the groups affected by a decision by how much they can influence it and how much it matters to them. Groups with high power and high interest need close management. Groups with high interest and little power are the ones most easily left out, and they are often the people who bear the cost of a decision.
The tool opens on a sample case: an event company deciding how to act on a finding that VIP ticket holders miss events more often. Score each group’s power and interest from 0 to 10, set the bubble size to the number of people it speaks for and read the suggested approach. Start blank to map your own decision.
How it works
Each stakeholder is plotted with interest across and power up. The lines sit at the midpoint, 5, of each scale.
The grid follows Mendelow’s power and interest matrix, from a 1981 paper on environmental scanning at the 2nd International Conference on Information Systems (many textbooks give the date as 1991). The 4 approaches are the labels most strategy and project texts attach to its quadrants. A position on the grid is a judgement, so record the reason for each one and expect it to change as a decision unfolds.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a power and interest grid?
A power and interest grid is a 2 by 2 stakeholder map. One axis shows how much power a group has over a decision and the other how much interest it takes in it. Each quadrant suggests an approach: manage closely, keep satisfied, keep informed or monitor.
Who created the power and interest grid?
The grid is credited to Aubrey Mendelow, who related stakeholders' power to how an organisation scans its environment in a paper at the 2nd International Conference on Information Systems in 1981. Textbooks often cite it as 1991.
Why do low-power, high-interest stakeholders matter?
They feel the effects of a decision and have little say in it. In an ethical review they are often the group whose rights or welfare are at stake, so a fair decision process gives them a route to be heard.
Can a stakeholder move on the grid?
Yes. A regulator with little interest today can become highly interested once a decision touches its rules, and a small group can gain power by organising. Revisit the map at each stage of the decision.
Is the stakeholder grid tool free?
Yes. It is free, runs in your browser and keeps your map on this device. Export it as PNG, PDF or CSV.