TOWARDS REAL STAKEHOLDER COOPERATION IN EUROPE

Abstract

There are multiple definitions of stakeholders, and these can differ between and even within organizations. Whilst acknowledging this difficulty, the definition used in this paper is that adopted by the World Bank (WB). The World Bank (1996) defines two types of stakeholders that are equally important: primary stakeholders who are directly affected (positively or negatively) by proposed interventions/policies and secondary stakeholders who are indirectly affected by proposed interventions/policies. Secondary stakeholders include those who have technical expertise and/or links to primary stakeholders, e.g. non-governmental organizations (NGOs), various intermediary or representative organizations and technical and professional bodies. They often represent public interests.
In the disability field, the most important stakeholders are:

• Persons with disabilities and their representatives;
• Service providers;
• Authorities at all levels;
• Research bodies;
• Unions.