Participation from key stakeholders

This sub-criterion assesses whether the landscape initiative actively engages relevant stakeholders in its design and implementation. Meaningful participation from diverse groups helps ensure that multiple perspectives are considered, fosters collective ownership, and supports an aligned vision.

Key stakeholder groups may include local and regional governments, NGOs and civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, producers and other market actors, and/or financial institutions, depending on the context.

To meet this sub-criterion, the initiative should involve at least three different stakeholder groups. Participation is defined as an organization being a formal partner, contributing to management or implementation, or providing funding for the initiative.

Requirements and validation criteria

To assess whether a landscape initiative has identified key stakeholders and ensured their active participation, LandScale requests specific information via tailored questions. Submitted materials are used to evaluate and validate the extent to which the participation from key stakeholders sub-criterion is met.

Requirements	Validation criteria
Stakeholder mapping.	If the stakeholder mapping is completed, a list of all organizations and groups actively involved in the initiative is provided, indicating each stakeholder's type and role. Ideally, this should include at least one local community representative and one government representative (though not required). If the stakeholder mapping is in progress or stakeholders have been identified but are not yet participating, this should be noted. If the stakeholder mapping has not been done, an explanation and details of plans to complete it are provided.
Collaboration agreement.	The formalized collaboration agreement is uploaded, including the date the partnership was initiated, the expiration date (if applicable), the vision or objective of the partnership, and a list of all organizations involved (at least one is named the Lead or Convener). This could take the form of a Memorandum of Understanding, Terms of Reference, legal document, project proposal, or press release. If no formalized collaboration agreement exists, a clear description of how the partnership is structured is provided, including the date the partnership was initiated, the expiration date (if applicable), the vision or objective of the partnership, and a list of all organizations involved (at least one is named the Lead or Convener).
Evidence of stakeholder participation.	Optionally, documentation demonstrating regular stakeholder meetings and participation is uploaded. This could include meeting agendas, minutes, attendance records, or reports demonstrating ongoing engagement.

Once validation is complete, the participation from key stakeholders sub-criterion on the wheel at the top of the initiative's profile will be filled to reflect the assigned maturity level, with validated information visible throughout the profile unless it is set to private.