This research is about the contribution of community engagement professionals (CEPs) to project result. CEPs focus mainly on stakeholder management but also have other responsibilities like permits, claim handling and cables and pipes detection. There are several studies on stakeholder management and its importance, however, there are no studies on how CEPs contribute to project results. This research distinguishes between three different levels in determining project success, these are output, outcome and impact. This research investigates how the vision and actions of CEPs, working for contractors, contribute to project outcomes. To investigate this, narrative interviews were done, with CEPs and stakeholders.

Based on these interviews, a general view of CEPs was determined. Furthermore, several categories were created. From these categories, three tasks CEPs perform and five actions CEPs do to accomplish these tasks, were established. Task 1 is “CEPs arrange permits", Task 2 is "Creating external stakeholder support" and Task 3 is "Connection internal and external stakeholders". Through these tasks, CEPs contribute to their vision on community engagement. The five actions implemented by CEPs can be linked to two of the three tasks of CEPs. Task 2 includes the following actions: "Engaging stakeholders early", "Stakeholder communication & needs gathering" and "Relationship building with stakeholders". Task 3 includes the actions: "Proactive stakeholder engagement & solution orientation" and "Project overview & intermediary". The literature study revealed that there are three perspectives CEPs can have. CEPs focused on task 1 and 2 have a project management perspective. CEPs focused on Task 3 see themselves as intermediary. Furthermore, the literature study revealed three different stakeholder management approaches. The actions associated with task 2 are done with a descriptive and instrumental stakeholder management approach. The actions done to perform task 3 are done from a normative approach.

By analyzing the tasks, perspectives, actions, management approaches together with considering which actions contribute to which level of project result, it could be concluded that the vision and actions of CEPs working for contractors did not contribute to project success at outcome level.