Stakeholder network analysis for systemic transformation

Stakeholder network analysis for systemic transformation
Our Objective
Applying social network analysis across the Wyss Academy's Solutionscapes to map how relationships, influence, and power flow among stakeholders—revealing entry points for more inclusive governance, equitable resource management, and effective coalition-building toward systemic change.
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The project was launched on April 1, 2024 and is currently in progress.
Summary
Addressing complex nature–people challenges requires more than technical solutions. It depends on who is at the table, how information and resources move between actors, and whether those most affected by decisions have a meaningful role in making them. The Stakeholder Network Analysis (SNA) project uses social network analysis to make these dynamics visible—and to use that visibility as a basis for action.
By mapping both formal and informal relationships within and around the Wyss Academy's Solutionscapes, SNA helps identify which actors are central to decision-making and resource flows, which intermediaries are best placed to broker connections across groups, and which stakeholders are often overlooked despite their importance for equitable and durable governance. These insights inform how coalitions are built and how the Wyss Academy and its partners prioritize engagement.
The project also tracks how stakeholder relationships change over time, allowing the team to assess whether actions are shifting network dynamics in the intended direction. By repeating the analysis across different Solutionscapes and at different points in time, SNA contributes to a shared analytical framework that connects local findings to broader learning on what enables—or obstructs—systemic transformation in social-ecological systems.
Project Connections
Part of the solutionscape
Ensuring forest stewardship and restoration at cash crop frontiers
Timeline
Social Network Analysis to Investigate Local Stakeholder Dynamics: A Practical Handbook
News June 9, 2026
In addition to publishing publicly available landscape-specific reports with recommendations for network interventions and stakeholder engagement, we have released a practical project handbook to guide others applying these methods to study network dynamics in other contexts. The handbook reflects our commitment to capacity building and knowledge sharing. Through this interdisciplinary effort, we enable the WA to better understand how past, present, and future interventions shape local networks while strengthening cross-Hub collaboration through shared methodologies.
New report: Social Network Analysis of Stakeholders in the Grosses Moos region in Switzerland
News March 5, 2026
The Environmental Governance and Global Development Research Team at the Wyss Academy for Nature (WA), in collaboration with the Wyss Academy's Hub Bern, led the study of the social network analysis of stakeholders in the Grosses Moos region in Switzerland. The report draws on 49 semistructured interviews with representatives of distinct stakeholder groups, including farmers, NGOs, governmental bodies, and other service providers. The analysis relies on social network modelling and unsupervised text analysis approaches to improve our understanding of relationships among diverse stakeholders to identify entry points for more effective and inclusive governance that generates co-benefits for both nature and people. The findings reveal that the Grosses Moos social network is relatively dense, with many connections between diverse stakeholder groups. This suggests interventions may initially face barriers to entry into the network in practice but, once they do, “change” in the opinions and behaviors of any stakeholder can have far-reaching consequences. Farmers and governmental bodies are central stakeholder groups in the network and can be the drivers of systemic transformations. The Wyss Academy's Hub Bern, together with other implementation partners, to implement actions aimed at introducing positive systemic change. The project provides a promising foundation for strengthening inclusive and sustainable resource governance in the region. You can read more about the Grosses Moos social network in the publicly available report.
The team lead’s view: an interview with Prof. Dr. Quynh Nguyen
News December 22, 2025
Text: Predrag Tripkovic
Social Network Analysis of Environmental Stakeholders in the Tambopata province in Peru
Project Update December 16, 2025
The Environmental Governance and Global Development Research Team at the Wyss Academy for Nature (WA), along with the WA Hub South America, led the study of the social network analysis of environment-related stakeholders in the Tambopata province in Madre de Dios, Peru. The report draws on data from 49 semi-structured interviews conducted between November 2024 and February 2025 with representatives of 18 distinct stakeholder groups, including farmers, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), traders, government, and service providers, among others.
Seeing the shape of biodiversity governance—evidence from 718 pledges
News October 28, 2025
The team examined 718 public pledges logged under the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Action Agenda for Nature. Each pledge was reviewed by hand to record who made it, who they partnered with, what they intend to change, and where. Read as a network—1,086 actors linked by 4,109 connections—this dataset shows structure rather than a list: clusters that work closely together, bridges that carry ideas between groups, and gaps where coordination falters. One pattern stands out. Much of the connective work runs through a “middle-out” space—local NGOs, city and regional authorities, research groups, alliances, and businesses. These actors translate international goals into practical work and, when linked well, carry grounded insights upward. At the same time, ties to national biodiversity strategies, or National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, are thin, which weakens the vertical pathway between local efforts and national targets.
Team
- Project contact
Project contact
Dr. Henrique Sposito
Postdoctoral Researcher
Other Projects in this Solutionscape
Nature-positive land use and livelihood development
Nature-positive land use and livelihood developmentStewardship at forest frontiers—Co-designed knowledge and engagement
Stewardship at forest frontiers—Co-designed knowledge and engagement









