The influence of Stakeholder management on the success of Social Development Projects within a higher education institution: A case study

. In Colombia, Higher Education institutions such as universities, both public and private, must fulfil three core functions: Education, Research and Social Development. Social Development refers to the services carried out by the university that make a positive impact on the surrounding communities and improve social welfare. This is achieved through teaching and research, which generate a range of projects that directly connect an institution to those communities. The stakeholders for Social Development projects typically have a significant influence on their development and success, however the relationship between stakeholder management and a project’s success has been poorly documented to date. This article seeks to describe the characteristics of this relationship and establish the importance of stakeholder management in the context of Social Development projects, using the institution of the University of Boyacá as a case study. Through a literature review and data analysis, this study will consider the research variables in order to determine the influential stakeholder groups in Social Development projects and, furthermore, define how the management of stakeholders positively affects their success. By doing so, we aim to generate literary support for future research and investigation in this area of projects.