Faction analysis and WIIFM

Faction Analysis

Perform a faction analysis when you are ready to start identifying the stakeholders you may need to engage in your campaign.

• Who will join you?
• Who can really help?
• Who will be resistant?
• How do we know if we need them?

A Faction Analysis will help you think about who you need to involve in the campaign. It’s a concrete exercise to make sure that all stakeholders you’re considering are associated with the concrete actions you need them to take.

Explaining the Faction Analysis Column Headings:

Leaders – people who traditionally are seen as leaders for the work.  You either need them involved or need to have a strategy for them not to stand in the way.

Contributors – will not lead the effort but are willing to participate and do work with you if you have a clear message, a plan and some leadership.

Gatekeepers – you just need them to not be against you, so your efforts should be focused on making sure you’re at least keeping them neutral. Gatekeepers might also be supportive of your efforts, but they don’t need to be active or take a hard step to work with you.

Bystanders – their support is immaterial. Bystanders might seem important but actually, they have no power and neither help nor hinder your work.  You don’t need to spend time getting a bystander to work with you.

Adversaries – two types: positive adversary and negative adversary.  With a positive adversary, you stand to gain something from their opposition (the fact they are against you could encourage others to work with you). Negative adversaries require you mitigating their resistance, muting them or turning them into a bystander (what would it take?)

Faction Analysis Exercise:

Think of some organisations or stakeholders that are currently not involved. If you have none at your table, think about those that you would like to invite to join your effort.

Now, using the table above, determine if each person/organisation is a Leader, Contributor, Gatekeeper, Bystander or Adversary (both positive and negative adversaries). 

What’s In It For Me (WIIFM)

Once you have completed your Faction Analysis table, you’ll have a better idea of who the various stakeholders you may need to engage with.

Your next step is completing a WIIFM exercise, or ‘What’s In It For Me.’  Below is a table for you to use for this exercise.

• In the left column, you will see a list of the Faction Types.
• In the middle column, please list all the stakeholders that fall in each category that you identified in the Faction Analysis above.
• In the right-hand column, please document a ‘What’s In It For Me’ statement. This statement should reflect your understanding of each stakeholder in a category and what will motivate them to join you in your effort.