Establish steering commitee

The most important stakeholders, especially key process participants, should be involved from the early stages of this analysis. They understand their business better than external consultants, and have practical experience in evaluating needs, opportunities and potential drawbacks of considered solutions.  The analytical process should be coordinated by a moderator equally distant to all stakeholders, proving neutrality, balance and fairness. 

Stakeholder participation should be formalised, preferably in the form of a steering committee, to allow efficient management of the entire programme. The presence of a steering committee has a significant impact on governance and trust in the project. The most important advantages and functions include: control and performance measurement, support, decision-making, relationship management, reporting, resource management, risk management and strategic focus. 

All crucial decision-makers should be included in the committee, as well as representatives of main actors to be affected by implementation of the programme’s results. This will enable the involvement of all actors from the beginning of the project and will create networks among the forest owners, industry, decision makers, researchers, community members and civil society.

The required main actors will vary depending on the scope and objectives of the programme, how forest administration is organized in a country, as well as factors such as forest ownership structure, natural conditions, level of economic development and social attitudes towards forestry. 

For example, if a national forest information system will be built/improved, the set of actors involved will be quite large:
●    Public administration – ministries responsible for forests and forestry (usually environmental or agricultural sector) 
●    Government agencies
●    Forest management organizations
●    Forest owners
●    National statistical offices and national correspondents for international reporting processes
●    Forest inventory and management planning groups, and research institutions

As shown in table below, actors can be identified considering various types of activities occurring in the forestry sector.