Local governments can use stakeholder mapping to identify services, organisations and businesses they would like to partner with or keep informed about their prevention of violence against women activities. 

A simple stakeholder mapping exercise can help local governments to create a list of relevant groups to support or implement prevention of violence against women initiatives. For example, local governments could select members from these groups to form a local steering committee.

To identify potential stakeholders and the different roles they could play in the prevention of violence against women, consider:

• which organisations would be most interested, or have expertise, in violence against women prevention? For example, organisations in women’s health and/or family services.
• which organisations do you think have the most power and influence, and would be able to support the local government to maximise impact?
• which organisations have specialist experience in representing diverse community groups, such as women with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTIQA+ communities, older Australians and migrants and refugees? 

Those with high interest, as well as high influence, are stakeholders you should engage closely with. Appropriate levels of engagement for different stakeholders are shown in the matrix.

Selecting the right partners and champions is key. Support from local government leaders and new stakeholders in the community is important. Consider the following selection criteria for developing new partnerships. Can potential partners:

• able to demonstrate foundational knowledge of violence against women and gender equality
• able to give examples of violence against women prevention and gender equality initiatives
• able to identify how they can lead prevention work within their sphere of influence
• have a strong history of positive behaviour that is aligned with gender equality and violence against women prevention approaches and principles.

Tips for effective partnerships

Partnerships are an effective method of co-designing, planning and implementing initiatives, although they can also be complicated and time consuming. 

Seek partners who are aligned with the values and objectives of the work you are setting out to do. Have conversations about primary prevention approaches from the outset, to ensure all partners have a shared understanding and vision for the partnership. 

Collaboration may involve conflicting ways of working. Be clear about roles, responsibilities and resourcing. You can reduce potential disagreements by establishing a governance arrangement up front (for example with a Memorandum of Understanding or Terms of Reference).

Find examples of practices, projects and plans from local councils.