Advisory Boards

A Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB) is a group that is convened for a specific purpose to advise decision-makers within an organization, such as a government agency, a corporate entity, or a non-profit organization. A successful SAB consists of a set of stakeholders with diverse views who are external to the organization. To maximize the value and efficacy of a SAB, the meeting should also be facilitated by a neutral party. SABs can provide advice on a specific need facing an organization, such as siting a new facility, or on a broader set of policy matters such as the development of new approaches to land development or watershed management. SABs can go by different names (e.g. Community Advisory Panels, or Restoration Advisory Boards) and can be tailored to a variety of needs. They can be organized to meet the very formal procedures required under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), or can be more informal one-time workshops, leadership gatherings, or expert panels.

Why Keystone?

The Keystone Center has extensive experience in designing, facilitating, and convening SABs on a diverse range of issues and on behalf of many different host organizations in the civic, public, and private sectors. Keystone has run SABs for the Department of Energy on nuclear weapons clean-up, for the Department of Defense working on the environmental restoration of Formerly Used Defense Sites, for DuPont on bio-technology, and for Alaskan Native communities. Other former clients include The Gates Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coastal Oil, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Monsanto, BP, Shell Oil, Coastal Oil, and the American Chemistry Council.

The added value of convening SABs includes:

• Avoiding unnecessary future frictions through the early identification of issues, concerns, and problems;
• Developing decision-making transparency which increases public confidence and trust;
• Building new relationships and partnerships with diverse interest groups;
• Getting input in the formative stages of new policy and product development when there is the maximum potential to influence direction; and
• Using the Advisory Board for creative problem solving.

How Keystone Can Help

Keystone staff can participate in the creation and implementation of SABs in various ways, including:

• An assessment of the appropriateness of a SAB to the issues under consideration;
• Identification and clarification of the group’s role and function;
• Identification and prioritization of prospective members to ensure a diversity of views;
• Preparation, coordination, and facilitation of meetings;
• Identification of outside experts and scientific or technical information needs;
• Public reporting; and
• Evaluation of SAB’s impact on policy decisions.

When considering if an SAB is right for your organization, here are some items to consider. A successful SAB generally will:

• Focus on a site or specific issue with numerous points of view;
• Involve the organization’s decision-makers early;
• Include divergent perspectives;
• Include agreed upon operating protocols or guidelines;
• Set realistic expectations;
• Be fully incorporated in the convening organization’s operations and linked to concrete future decisions;
• Build in evaluation checkpoints;
• Issue regular reports;
• Incorporate summative evaluation at the end; and
• Be a joint-learning experience in which the host organization as well as invited stakeholders learn.

For more information please contact Mike Hughes.