Abstract
Researchers suggest that regional development projects often involve various stakeholders with distinct expectations. However, much more work remains to be done to understand how these stakeholders interact in regional-centric projects. Drawing on the literature on project management, this study investigates stakeholder expectations in such a project. Data for the analysis was generated using Q-methodology on 23 participants identified in an EU-funded regional development project in the East Midlands region in England.
The findings from a comprehensive analysis of their narratives indicate that four stakeholder groups, including project funder, local authority, project delivery team and project clients have three distinct expectations. They expect the development project that pay attention to [1] regional development, [2] enterprise assistance, targeting individual business support and [3] life coaching, helping project clients with personal development. The study results emphasise the importance of stakeholder expectation management and provide academics, practitioners, and policymakers with an approach to manage stakeholders’ interrelationships, design communication strategies, and solve potential conflicts.