July 30, 2009

Feedback systems


Keystone works with organisations to generate powerful feedback systems based on how their constituents perceive their work.

Organisations gain significant benefits from implementing feedback systems:

  • New insights about the impact of work on constituents. This can be benchmarked against the performance of peer organisations.
  • Renew and strengthen relationships with all constituents on the basis of independent data.
  • Empower primary constituents by amplifying their voices.
  • Create a ‘constituent-focused’ culture in the organization.
  • Create opportunities for mutual learning to improve approaches and strategies.
  • Strengthen legitimacy as a result of visible efforts to be more accountable to constituents.

 Constituency Voice Operational Cycle

Constituent Voice Operational Cycle

Typically, designing and implementing a feedback system involves the following steps:

  1. Preparation: Agree to goals and terms with all partners
  2. Finalize & Run Surveys: Design independent and confidential surveys across key constituents
  3. Triangulate with other Evaluative Thinking and Data: Collect other relevant surveys, audits, and analyses
  4. Analysis: Analyze effectiveness and theory of change against the feedback data
  5. Reporting Back to Survey Respondents: Validate feedback and plans for improvement in generative dialogue with constituents
  6. Funder & Public Reporting: Public and donor reporting by the nonprofits, including data plus what constituents say about their feedback

We provide 3 types of feedback services:

Type Who is surveyed On what
Feedback from primary constituents
Examples
Primary constituents – the people most affected

Quality of relationships, perceived performance and impact of organisations.

Survey Techniques: May vary from participatory exercises to exit polls to using mobile phones

Feedback from grantees/investors
Examples
Grantees/investors funds recipients

Quality of relationships, perceived performance and impact of grantmaker/ funder / social investor 

Survey Techniques: Usually written surveys online and on paper

Feedback from other constituents
Examples
Partners/ members/ policy makers/ others 

Quality of relationships, perceived performance and impact of International NGOs, networks or other organisations

Survey Techniques: Usually written surveys online and on paper

 

Feedback systems raise significant ethical issues. Badly implemented, feedback systems can generate misleading data for decision makers and worsen power imbalances among farmers. Download our ethical framework for feedback exercises.