One of the inevitabilities in life is change. Whether one is an agent in that change or passive, nothing endures unchanged. Passive change occurs when the outcome is not directed by external effort. Active change, however, requires planned and directed effort in some activity to produce the intended outcome which will be comprised of public and private goods. In addition, there are also unintended consequences to anticipate and manage and these will affect the active participants but may also affect external parties who are passive to the endeavour. Active and passive participants described here are the active and passive stakeholders in the change.
In considering the stake each type of participant holds, we can be more definitive as follows.
- Active stakeholders contribute materially to the change with the expectation of deriving benefits from its delivery (for themselves or others)
- Passive stakeholders will benefit (or suffer loss) in some material way from the change and their stake can be quantified by the reduction or increase in cost of attaining a good and the reduction or increase in cost of mitigating against the loss of a good that they formerly benefited from
In summary the stake is: the material change in the benefits or detriments resulting from the change, relative to the cost of making the change. This is important because a positive stake will be welcome whereas a negative stake will not and thus we are provided with a basis for balancing stakeholder expectations and negotiating agreements.