stakeholder-coordination

Research Project Stakeholder Coordination

What This Does

Organize internal and external stakeholders involved in research funding applications, post-award management, joint research, and evaluation responses, and visualize who needs to confirm what, which agreements are complete, and what remains undecided. Turn internal and external negotiations into a coordination plan that includes responsibility allocation, confirmation contacts, deadlines, and escalation contacts, not just "sending an email."

• Target Users: URA, research support staff, PI, project managers, departmental administrative offices
• Problems to Solve: There are many stakeholders, and agreements, pending matters, and confirmation contacts are scattered
• Expected Outcomes: Reduce missed confirmations, ambiguity in responsibility allocation, and delays in consulting specialized departments

Required Inputs

• Purpose of Coordination: Application preparation, joint research launch, post-award kickoff, contract changes, evaluation responses, etc.
• Stakeholder Information: Name, affiliation, role, contact information, decision-making authority
• Current Status: What has been decided, pending matters, concerns, deadlines
• Related Systems and Departments: Accounting, contracts, intellectual property, ethics, safety, export control, information security, etc.
• Deadlines: Call deadlines, contract start dates, evaluation meetings, reporting deadlines, internal deadlines
• Existing Materials(Optional): Application forms, research plans, budget tables, draft contracts, minutes, emails

What It Produces

1. Stakeholder Map: Organize roles, interests, decision-making authority, and contact priority
2. Agreements and Pending Matters List: Separate what has been decided from what needs confirmation
3. Confirmation Request Text: Request emails to send to the PI, partner institutions, and specialized departments
4. Coordination ToDo Table: Owner, deadline, confirmation contact, status
5. Escalation Plan: Consultation contacts when delays, conflicts, or institutional judgments are needed

Procedure

1. Define the goal of coordination

Write the purpose of coordination as a deliverable or decision.

調整ゴール:
- いつまでに:
- 誰の合意が必要で:
- 何を決める/提出する:

Example:

• Finalize co-researchers' role assignments, budget, and consent before submitting the application
• Decide confirmation contacts for contracts, accounting, ethics, and DMP by the post-award kickoff
• Agree with the PI on results, reasons for delays, and future response policy before the evaluation meeting

2. Classify stakeholders

Classification	Typical Examples	What to Confirm
Research Side	PI, co-investigators, co-researchers	Research plan, roles, deliverables, deadlines
Internal Administration	Departmental administrative office, research promotion division, accounting	Internal deadlines, approvals, budget, supporting documents
Specialized Departments	Contracts, intellectual property, ethics, safety, export control, information infrastructure	Systems, regulations, risk judgments
External parties	Partner institutions, companies, FAs, contractors	Contracts, allocations, deliverables, points of contact
Decision-makers	Department heads, center directors, principal investigators	Policies, priorities, exception handling

3. Create a stakeholder map

| 関係者 | 所属 | 役割 | 決定権限 | 関心/懸念 | 依頼事項 | 期限 |
|--------|------|------|----------|-----------|----------|------|

If decision-making authority is unclear, confirm it early. The point of contact and the approver are often different people.

4. Separate agreed items from pending items

## 合意事項
| No | 内容 | 合意者 | 日付 | 根拠資料 |
|----|------|--------|------|----------|

## 未決事項
| No | 内容 | 何が不足しているか | 確認先 | 担当 | 期限 | 影響 |
|----|------|--------------------|--------|------|------|------|

For pending items, do not just say "confirm with someone"; include who to confirm with and a deadline.

5. Organize the issues to hand over to specialized departments

Areas in which the RA must not make the final decision should be converted into requests for confirmation.

Area	Typical issues	Confirmation contact
Contracts	NDA, joint research, commissioned research, data provision, subcontracting	Contracts staff, legal affairs
Intellectual property	Inventions, joint applications, public disclosure before paper submission, licensing	Intellectual property staff
Ethics	Human subjects research, consent, personal information, secondary use	Ethics review office
Safety	Chemicals, genetically modified organisms, pathogens, radiation	Safety management staff
Export control	Technology provision, overseas shipment, foreign institutions, intended use	Export control staff
Information management	Sensitive information, cloud use, access permissions	Information security staff

6. Create a confirmation request

件名: [確認依頼] {プロジェクト名} {確認事項}

{プロジェクト名} について、下記の点をご確認いただけますでしょうか。

背景:
- {背景}

確認したい事項:
- {事項1}
- {事項2}

関連資料:
- {資料}

希望回答期限:
- {日付}

こちらで把握している未決事項:
- {未決事項}

7. Update the coordination status

Give coordination ToDos a status.

Status	Meaning
Not started	Not yet requested
Requested	Requested from the other party
Awaiting response	Awaiting response
Additional confirmation required	The response alone is not enough
Completed	Agreement or confirmation completed
Escalation	Higher-level consultation is needed due to deadline, decision, or conflict

Judgment criteria

Judgment item	Points to check	Action
Decision-making authority	Who can make the final decision	Separate the point of contact from the approver
Pending items	What is missing and causing a hold-up	Set a confirmation contact and deadline
Specialized judgment	Whether it relates to legal affairs, intellectual property, ethics, safety, or export control	Hand over to the specialized department
Deadline	Whether it affects external or internal deadlines	Raise the priority
Evidence	Whether the agreement remains in emails, minutes, or documents	Record the supporting documents

Common mistakes and countermeasures

Mistake	Countermeasure
Only creating a stakeholder list, and coordination does not progress	Include request items, deadlines, and status
Assuming the contact person is the decision-maker	Confirm decision authority in a separate item
Consulting the specialized department abstractly	Prepare the background, items to confirm, materials, and desired deadline
Agreed items remain only verbal	Document them in minutes or email as evidence
Unresolved items pile up	Update the status, and escalate overdue items

Quality standards

• Stakeholder roles, decision authority, request items, and deadlines are explicitly stated
• Agreed items and unresolved items are separated, and supporting materials remain
• The RA does not make definitive judgments on issues that should be confirmed with the specialized department
• Coordination ToDos have a status, and there is an escalation destination for overdue items
• It is clear at a glance where things are stalled: with the researcher, the administrative office, or the partner institution

Available Tools

• Read: Reading application forms, draft contracts, minutes, emails, and budget tables
• Write: Creating a stakeholder map, unresolved items table, confirmation request text, and coordination ToDos
• WebSearch / WebFetch: Confirming FA/institutional public information, program contacts, and the latest requirements
• Bash: Formatting the stakeholder table, ToDo table, and deadline table