The five circles describe where stakeholders sit. Before you move to your own profile, take a moment to think how they relate to your issue. Two simple questions sharpen the picture.

A key insight from advocacy practice: most successful advocacy campaigns do not target decision-makers directly. They build pressure through community, media, and professional voices that decision-makers cannot ignore. “Community, inclusion, purpose — that’s real sport.”  

Use the five circles to map this pressure system, not just to list contacts.

1. Within each circle, identify three sub-types of stakeholders:

• Who decides — those with formal power to grant resources, change rules, or open doors.
• Who influences — gatekeepers, advisers, opinion-leaders who shape the decision-makers’ choices.
• Who supports — allies you can mobilise to back your case publicly or privately.

The same person or organisation can play different roles for different issues. A municipal sport officer may decide on facility access but only influence on funding decisions taken at council level.

2. Rate each actor on two axes:

• Power over your issue (1 = low, 5 = high)
• Interest in your issue (1 = low, 5 = high)

This gives you the classic stakeholder matrix. Prioritise the high-power / high-interest quadrant for direct, sustained outreach. Engage high-power / low-interest actors carefully (they need to be informed, not persuaded yet). Low-power / high-interest actors are your natural coalition partners. Low-power / low-interest actors can be parked for now.

You will record this mapping in Section A1 of your RESM Advocacy Compass handbook – the central tool for organising your advocacy thinking throughout this toolkit. Open it now or download it below if you have not yet.

Want to go further? For an alternative perspective on stakeholders organised by their role in advocacy (rather than their proximity to your organisation), see the ISCA Active Voice Advocacy course, Module 1, Topic 1.2 “Who Are We Advocating To?” on learn.isca.org. It introduces five target audiences (decision-makers, media, professionals, community, your own organisation) with practical engagement tips for each.