Step 1 - Determine who the decision-maker is, what the pending decision is and who will be affected.

Look at who may be affected and identify not only organizations but also groups of people and their appropriate representatives. Consider how and when the general public could be impacted by a decision and be proactive in inviting their input.

Step 1

There are several steps in doing this:

  • identify the ultimate decision-maker;
  • draft a statement describing the pending decision and list the intended and unintended effects of the decision;
  • identify the people or groups that will be affected by the decision; and
  • determine the impacts and the significances of these impacts for each group (positive and negative, direct and indirect).