Stakeholder participation is a crucial and recognised critical success factor in a major project management environment. This paper argues that there is a lot written on this subject in relation to the business sector but very little understanding when it pertains to academic institutions. Our premise is that academic establishments could learn from the business sector whose stakeholder participation and stakeholder engagements have yielded meaningful and enriching outcomes in key performance areas. As quality practitioners, our interest is particularly in stakeholder participation in Quality Improvement Plans. In educational institutions, Quality Improvement Plans are oftentimes merely implemented to satisfy compliance requirements with regulatory bodies. This paper argues for a different conceptualization of these quality assurance processes so that they are used to build on available strategic initiatives to enhance the institution’s competitive advantage.

This paper reports on this alternative process that aligns itself with the strategic thrusts of the University. It explains how the University stakeholders were identified - namely the academics, professional and administrative departments as well as students - and how all these stakeholders were engaged and kept abreast of the project’s developments. From these stakeholder engagements, there were successes as well as challenges that needed the institution’s urgent attention to ensure project progress. These will be contextualised and the paper will detail how the institution resolved the obstacles. The researchers will also reflect on the reports that emerged from project coordinators and their own reflections on several engagements with stakeholders that were entrusted with the implementation of improvements.

Stakeholder participation emerged as being critical because the stakeholders are owners of the processes that need to be improved upon. Preliminary observations indicate that stakeholder participation is complex and, at times, governed by leaders’ attitude towards the project and its value in their environment. Additionally, an analysis determined that there is a need to ensure that all critical stakeholders participate from the conceptualisation of the project as well as a need to do a proper segmentation of stakeholders. The latter will ensure that in reporting on the project, engagements are beneficial to both parties, communication is tailored and strategies are personalized for each group. It is also critical to move players from a compliance mentality to a mode that drives the strategic intents of an institution for the benefit of all. All these insights call for a development of a participatory approach in respect to stakeholder engagement, particularly in an organization’s mega projects. Change management needs to be part of such projects than being an add-on. The authors do realise that there is a need to build compelling frameworks on stakeholder engagement to successfully execute mega projects in complex mega universities.

Keywords: Quality Improvement Plan, stakeholder participation, stakeholder engagement, stakeholder engagement framework.