Stakeholder engagement is at the core of successful ICZM stories. This paper proposes a practical approach to set the basis for a wide and efficient stakeholder engagement process in ICZM which was tested in Cantabria, a Region in the north of Spain. The coastal system was modelled by defining three basic interacting components: coastal units, coastal activities and coastal stakeholders. This approach allowed the identification of a very clear set of relationships emerging from a survey of stakeholders and an assessment of coastal projects. This process was also useful to inform stakeholders about a new regional coastal strategy and to consider their opinion on coastal issues and public participation. From a very ill-defined situation, a clear relationship chart was defined and a spatial database implemented which conveys all the data gathered into a useful tool for coastal managers.