Our approach
A practical approach to stakeholder engagement
ALIGN™ is CULTIVA Global Solutions's approach to planning participation, guiding discussion and following through on decisions. We adapt it to the scope and duration of each assignment.
The three dimensions ALIGN considers
Coverage is who takes part. Depth is how far a discussion moves past stated positions into the interests behind them. Momentum is how the group keeps moving toward a decision the program office can act on.
We plan all three at the start of an assignment, write down the approach we intend to take, and revisit it with the program office when circumstances change.
The five phases
Each phase leaves the program office with a working record it keeps after the engagement ends.
A. Assess
Understand the decision the program needs to reach, who has to approve it and when it is needed.
L. Locate
Identify the organizations and individuals with a genuine role in the outcome, and what each one brings.
I. Involve
Choose the right form of participation for the scope and run the sessions well.
G. Govern
Write down what was agreed, who is responsible and by when.
N. Navigate
Follow up on commitments and bring people back together when circumstances change.
What this means for a program office
- 01
Each assignment is led by named, accountable people, and continuity is managed by the firm rather than left to one individual.
- 02
The approach is written down, so an agency can review how we plan to work before the engagement begins.
- 03
The program office keeps the working records: a stakeholder list, a decision log, a commitment tracker and a closing report.
- 04
We adapt the level of structure to the scope, so a single session is not carrying the overhead of a multiyear program.
Practices that inform our approach
Each part of ALIGN draws on published professional practice.
| Part of ALIGN | Published practice |
|---|---|
| Choosing the form of participation | IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation |
| Lifecycle and stakeholder analysis | PMI PMBOK Guide, Stakeholder Performance Domain |
| Session conduct and neutrality | IAF Core Competencies; interest-based negotiation method |
| Construction and program partnering | USACE EP 34-1-1 Partnering Playbook (September 2024) |
IAP2 is the International Association for Public Participation. PMI is the Project Management Institute. IAF is the International Association of Facilitators. USACE is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Fitting the approach to the assignment
We scale the structure to the scope
A single working session needs an agenda, a skilled facilitator and a written record of what was agreed. It does not need the full set of tracking documents that a multiyear program depends on.
Longer programs, blanket purchase agreements and multi-event work benefit from the fuller structure, because commitments have to survive changes in schedule, staffing and priorities.