By Enrique Mendizabal
How can researchers seeking to change a policy get a useful picture of the key actors involved in that policy space? Who should they partner with? Who will need convincing? Whose arguments will counter their own?
The Alignment, Interest and Influence Matrix (AIIM) was designed to address these questions.
The AIIM tool is useful as far as it can encourage an open and thoughtful conversation. In my experience, the tool is most useful when the people involved provide a breadth of experience and insight into the policy process that they are trying to affect. Users should not rule out having to put the AIIM on hold while they gather further evidence, nor going back to the matrix as they gain new insights during the implementation of their plans.
The process involves 6 steps and can be completed during a participatory workshop.