Multi-stakeholder platforms

Multi-stakeholder platforms


Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) are purposely organized interactive processes that bring together a range of sholdertakeholders to participate in dialogue, decision making and/or implementation, with the aim to address a common problem or achieve a common goal.  

The aim of these platforms is to facilitate participatory agreements with outcomes that are more equitable and effective than those reached through ‘business as usual’ approaches. However, if done without sensitivity or care for the political and social context, the platforms can also trivialize participation, limit opportunities for meaningful debate, fail to tackle power differences and lead to outcomes that reinforce inequity. 

CIFOR-ICRAF researchers have been examining and engaging stakeholders to expand the transformative potential of MSPs in landscape governance since 2017 through literature reviews and a comparative study of 13 platforms organized at the subnational level in Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Peru.  

The lessons learned through the case studies and engagement with diverse actors led to the development of open-access tools to co-design, monitor and reflect on effective MSPs. They are intended for use by governments, international institutions, indigenous and local community organizations, environmental groups and other NGOs. 

The tools are unique because: 

  1. They were developed with a wide range of actors. 
  2. They were designed to be used by platform participants and organizers themselves, not to be applied by external evaluators. 
  3. They go beyond a simple assessment of indicators, inviting participants to discuss and reflect on their experiences

While they do not challenge power relations and inequalities on their own, the tools support people at the forefront of the transition from top-down decision making to more equitably managed landscapes. 

Testimonies

Tools and tips to design and monitor meaningful, inclusive platforms for transformation 

Tools to reflect on the process, progress and priorities of MSPs

‘How are we doing?’ video tutorials

CIFOR’s toolkit to support inclusion in multi-stakeholder forums

This video provides a short introduction to four tools CIFOR and partners developed collaboratively to support the inclusion of marginalized groups in multi-stakeholder forums and processes. It introduces How are we going? in three adaptations: for multi-stakeholder forums, for the management committees of Peru’s protected areas and for indigenous women in territorial governance; as well as Getting it Right, a guide for forum organizers to support inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and women.

A short guide to implementing How are we doing?

This video briefly outline the steps required for the implementation of How are we doing? A tool to reflect on the process, progress and priorities of your multi-stakeholder forum.

Forests news

Zoom sur les forums multipartites et la façon dont ils façonnent la gouvernance forestière

Dampak Inisiatif Pengelolaan Bersama Multipemangku Kepentingan di Amazon Peruvian

Dissecting multi-stakeholder forums and how they shape forest governance

Case studies 

Brazil 

The Ecological-Economic Zoning Commission: Acre, Brazil

(EN I PT)

The Social-Economic Ecological Zoning Multi-Stakeholder Forum: Mato Grosso, Brazil

(EN I PT)

The Green Municipalities Program: Pará, Brazil

(EN I PT)

Ethiopia 

The SHARE Bale eco-region MSF: Oromia, Ethiopia

EN

The Jamma-Urji farmer managed natural regeneration MSF: Oromia, Ethiopia

EN

Indonesia

The SIPKEBUN Working Group Multi-Stakeholder Forum: Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

(EN I ID)

Provincial Council on Climate Change: East Kalimantan, Indonesia

(EN I ID)

The Adaptive Collaborative Management Multi-Stakeholder Forum: Jambi, Indonesia

(EN I ID)

The Integrated Citarum Water Resources Management Investment Program Multi-Stakeholder Forums: West Java, Indonesia

(EN I PT)

 

Peru

The Roundtable for Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact: Loreto, Peru

(EN I ID)

The Amarakaeri Communal Reserve’s Management Committee: Madre de Dios, Peru

(EN I ID)

The Alto Mayo Protected Forest’s Management Committee: San Martín, Perú

(EN I ID)

The Regional Platform for Community Forest Management: Ucayali, Perú

(EN I PT)