Note: This unit version is currently being edited and is subject to change!
PMGT1852: Facilitation and Stakeholder Engagement (2020 - Semester 2)
| Unit: | PMGT1852: Facilitation and Stakeholder Engagement (6 CP) |
| Mode: | Normal-Day |
| On Offer: | Yes |
| Level: | Junior |
| Faculty/School: | School of Project Management |
| Unit Coordinator/s: |
Dr Chung, Kenneth
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| Session options: | Semester 2 |
| Versions for this Unit: |
| Campus: | Camperdown/Darlington |
| Pre-Requisites: | None. |
| Brief Handbook Description: | All projects exist within a network of stakeholders including senior management, customers, users, team members and many others. Ability to facilitate the interactions within this network allows us to better identify, assess and prioritise stakeholder needs and concerns in order to achieve project outcomes. This unit of study covers two key aspects: (i) Communication with respect to facilitation techniques, influence, engagement and project teamwork; and (ii) Stakeholder Engagement, with emphasis on the process of stakeholder identification, analysis and prioritisation using theoretical and practical frameworks such as salient models and stakeholder network analysis. |
| Assumed Knowledge: | ENGG1850. |
| Lecturer/s: |
Dr Chung, Kenneth
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| Tutor/s: | Niccolò de Briganti | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Timetable: | PMGT1852 Timetable | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Time Commitment: |
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| T&L Activities: | Note on Blended Learning: There will be elements of blended learning utilised in this unit of study. This means that there will be times where formal lecture content will be delivered online and students will be asked to review the content before coming to the facilitated workshops. This allows for further discussion of learning content and/or engagement in activities prepared by the unit coordinator. Students, please note the syllabus schedule last page which shows content to be learnt or discussed on a weekly basis. The onus is on you to ensure that you keep the schedule and any pre-work required before the workshop as instructed on the eLearning system (e.g. Canvas). |
Attributes listed here represent the key course goals (see Course Map tab) designated for this unit. The list below describes how these attributes are developed through practice in the unit. See Learning Outcomes and Assessment tabs for details of how these attributes are assessed.
| Attribute Development Method | Attribute Developed |
| Excel at applying and continuing to develop technical expertise in (i) facilitation of small, medium and large stakeholder groups through questioning, focusing, energising, agenda setting, closing and building consensus and (ii) the process of stakeholder engagement through identification, analysis and prioritisation. | Project Methods (Level 1) |
| Initiates and drives development of a productive shared approach to project stakeholder roles and responsibilities and their alignment with project goals and strategy, consistent with relevant principles and practice. Work professional in interdisciplinary and/or inter-professional settings (with self-awareness, integrity, personal resilience, and capacities to manage and challenge uncertainty) and to build broader perspective, innovation, and more contextualised and systemic forms of understanding. |
Project Leadership (Level 1) |
| Conveys complex material critically, accurately, informatively and constructively as operational circumstances require. Using state of the art research-based theories and methodologies, students will show thorough understanding of theory and practical context with fluent command of PM parlance. It allows them a systems and social networks perspective on communication of stakeholders and their engagement. Increase the impact of facilitation and stakeholder engagement, and to learn and respond objectively and creatively to novel problems and opportunities through effective communication, influence, empathy and teamwork. |
Project Communication (Level 2) |
| Students will discuss professional practice issues of stakeholder management and communications aspects with appropriate reference to PM knowledge sources, in particular PMBoK and case studies. They will seek opportunities to learn from experience, reflecting constructively upon both failures and successes. Demonstrate cultural competence by working productively, collaboratively and openly in diverse groups and across cultural boundaries. |
Professional Practice (Level 2) |
For explanation of attributes and levels see Project Management Learning Progression Table 2019.
Learning outcomes are the key abilities and knowledge that will be assessed in this unit. They are listed according to the course goal supported by each. See Assessment Tab for details how each outcome is assessed.
Professional Practice (Level 2)
1. Explore, select and apply facilitation techniques.
Project Communication (Level 2)
2. Facilitate and engage stakeholders upwards, downwards, sidewards and outwards through formal and informal mechanisms of influence
3. Observe, build, provide feedback and coach team through the facilitation process thereby building cooperation amongst team members.
Project Leadership (Level 1)
4. Develop awareness and reflection on how embedded values and mental models affect how you and others see and react to the world, when facilitating stakeholders.
Project Methods (Level 1)
5. Develop an understanding of the project stakeholder management process from identification, analysis and prioritisation as well as potential impact on project.
6. Develop and maintain a stakeholder strategy, risk matrix and communication plan
7. Develop an operational understanding of stakeholder analysis and the use of applications for analysing stakeholder engagement.
| Assessment Methods: |
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| Assessment Description: |
* indicates an assessment task which must be repeated if a student misses it due to special consideration. Please note that the due dates mentioned below may change during the semester and due care will be provided by the lecturer to notify you. Group Project (Report and Video Presentation): The topic and detailed instructions for this group project will be provided from week 2 of semester. Students work in groups on a case-study where students will have to produce a project deliverable for the project sponsor. This deliverable will be in the form of a product, result or process. To achieve this, it will require significant amount of team work such as facilitation techniques and stakeholder identification, analysis and prioritisation techniques. For the purpose of the group report, the key deliverables are: 1. Stakeholder identification report (due week 5, worth 5%) 2. Stakeholder analysis (due week 8, worth 10%) 3. Stakeholder prioritisation (due week 10, worth 10%) 4. Facilitation process & requirements gathering report, including communications plan & risk matrix (due week 13, worth 10%) Video presentation: Due week 14 (Stuvac), worth 15%. For the purpose of video presentation, the key deliverable is a video presentation showing the process for achieving key deliverables 1-4 above. This may include showing how you identified stakeholders, engaged with them, set up agendas for meeting, how it was facilitated, questions asked, requirements gathers, thought process, project execution, etc. Unleash your team`s creativity here - the video may be a full movie, documentary, simple powerpoint show, images and text, etc. Further details will be provided in the project assignment document/webpage. * Essay/Short Answer Exam (worth 25%): Due week 9. The essay/short-answer exam is designed as an assessment for learning and will be written in class. The topic will be relevant to project stakeholder engagement and will be provided by week 5 of semester. In order to prepare, students are encouraged to review stakeholder theory, management practice, and analytical techniques/frameworks. It is also useful to compare, contrast and critically appraise state of the art stakeholder management theory and practice. Participation (worth 10%): Participation will be assessed in tutorials through the quality of engagement and contribution in tutorial sessions, including tutorial discussions, presentations, Q&A, and other tutorial activities. This point is highly emphasised: mere attendance does not constitute participation. Please note: you will have the chance to volunteer to facilitate the tutorial sessions, where 4 bonus marks are up for grabs. * Reflection Reports (Due weeks 4, 8 & 12 worth 5% each (i.e. total 15%)): Reflections are an important part of any project practice as it allows for self-evaluation on practice and learning during project delivery. As you learn about communication, facilitation and stakeholder engagement, you are encouraged to complete reflection reports based on reflection of learning of past weeks. E.g. report due in week 4 will cover weeks 1-4, report due in week 8 will cover weeks (5-8) and may link to prior learning (e.g. week 2). Important notes: 1. As part of the assessment process, text matching software such as Turnitin will be used to identify plagiarism and/or be used for providing feedback. As part of the group participation assessment process, collaborative & self-peer evaluation tools (e.g. wikis, SPARK Plus, CATME, etc.) may be used to understand contributions and interactions amongst group members. All written assessments will be submitted online via the Turnitin link available in eLearning. 2. Mark moderation: There may be statistically defensible moderation when combining the marks from each component to ensure consistency of marking between markers, and alignment of final grades with unit outcomes. 3. Late submission of assessments will incur a penalty of 5% per day for up to 10 days starting directly after the cut-off time. E.g. An assignment that gets 9/10, and is 2 days late, loses 10% of the mark, i.e. new mark = 8.1/10. An assignment that gets 5/10, and that is 5 days late, loses 25% of the mark, i.e. new mark = 3.75/10. Assignments more than 10 days late get 0. |
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| Assessment Feedback: | Feedback will be provided on all assessment components where possible in a timely manner either in oral or written form. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grading: |
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| Policies & Procedures: | See the faculty of Engineering & Information Technologies student policies website for further information: http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/student-policies |
| Prescribed Text/s: |
Note: Students are expected to have a personal copy of all books listed.
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| Recommended Reference/s: |
Note: References are provided for guidance purposes only. Students are advised to consult these books in the university library. Purchase is not required.
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| Note on Resources: |
The prescribe textbooks are all available from the library of the University of Sydney. See: https://tinyurl.com/yyhzt8lr for Eskerod's book. and https://tinyurl.com/y5gxpg7k for Wilkinson's book |
Note that the "Weeks" referred to in this Schedule are those of the official university semester calendar https://web.timetable.usyd.edu.au/calendar.jsp
| Week | Description |
| Week 1 | Introduction to Project Facilitation & Stakeholder Management - An overview + Important Concepts (Chap 1 & 2 - Eskerod) |
| Week 2 | Stakeholder motivations to contribute: Theoretical perspectives (Chap 3 - Eskerod). |
| Week 3 | Project Stakeholder Analysis I: Models, Approaches & Techniques (Chap 4 - Eskerod) |
| Week 4 | On Facilitation: Asking Questions & Communicating Supportively (Chap 2 - Wilkinson) |
| Assessment Due: R1 (Reflection 1) | |
| Week 5 |
Preparing for Facilitation Success (Chap 3 - Wilkinson) Self-read: Planning towards Stakeholder Management & Ethical considerations (Chap 5 & 6 - Eskerod) |
| Assessment Due: Group Project D1 (deliverable 1) due: Stakeholder Identification | |
| Week 6 | Project Stakeholder Analysis II: Advanced Techniques |
| Week 7 | Interpersonal Communication: Developing Self-Awareness |
| Week 8 | Assessment Due: R2 (Reflection 2) |
| ----- SEMESTER BREAK ------ | |
| Assessment Due: Group Project D2 (deliverable 2) due: Stakeholder Assessment | |
| Getting started on Facilitation (Chap 4 - Wilkinson) | |
| Week 9 | Network Thinking & Analytics for Stakeholder Analysis |
| Assessment Due: *Essay/short answer Exam | |
| Week 10 | Focusing the Groups (Chap 5 - Wilkinson) |
| Assessment Due: Group Project D3 (deliverable 3) due: Stakeholder Prioritisation | |
| Week 11 | Using the Pen (Chap 6 - Wilkinson) |
| Week 12 | Assessment Due: R3 (Reflection 3) |
| Information Gathering (Chap 7 - Wilkinson) | |
| Week 13 | Closing the session (Chap 8 - Wilkinson) + Course overview & debrief |
| Assessment Due: Group Project D4 (deliverable 4) due: Final report | |
| STUVAC (Week 14) | Assessment Due: Group Project: Video Presentation |
Course Relations
The following is a list of courses which have added this Unit to their structure.
Course Goals
This unit contributes to the achievement of the following course goals:
| Attribute | Practiced | Assessed |
| Professional Practice (Level 2) | Yes | 11% |
| Project Communication (Level 2) | Yes | 24.5% |
| Project Leadership (Level 1) | Yes | 18.5% |
| Project Methods (Level 1) | Yes | 46% |
These goals are selected from Project Management Learning Progression Table 2019 which defines overall goals for courses where this unit is primarily offered. See Project Management Learning Progression Table 2019 for details of the attributes and levels to be developed in the course as a whole. Percentage figures alongside each course goal provide a rough indication of their relative weighting in assessment for this unit. Note that not all goals are necessarily part of assessment. Some may be more about practice activity. See Learning outcomes for details of what is assessed in relation to each goal and Assessment for details of how the outcome is assessed. See Attributes for details of practice provided for each goal.
