Collecting feedback in prison

Nafisika Trust works in Kenya providing counselling and training to people in prison. The Trust is reaping the benefits of a Constituent Voice feedback system and using data to improve their programs. Vickie Wambura the founder and director of the charity said: “We thought were gathering feedback but we kept having snarl ups. We were[…]

A very bold alternative

“What is this feedback thing all about?” I‘m hearing this question more and more as the word about feedback in social change is spreading. I say that it is about transformational change, though it works incrementally. I say that it is about listening and connecting with people, that it amounts to a fundamental reorientation in[…]

From knowledge management to knowledge discovery

I spend a lot of time dealing with data. Data is an ingredient in an organization’s larger decision making process. Institutions say they want “knowledge management” systems. This is a way to store all the information they create in one place and make it searchable. But the knowledge solutions I’ve seen only address half the[…]

Moment of choice

Last week’s Feedback Summit was, for me at least, a watershed event. It was the third time our emerging field had come together at an annual gathering. Despite the inevitable consternation that accompanies wide-ranging diversity of expectations, experience and perspectives, I believe that we made two leaps forward over two huge chasms. This post is[…]

How to make the most of feedback

How do you make the most of feedback? – discuss further with the people who gave it to you. We have writing recently about how closing the loop is the most scary but also most valuable part of understanding feedback. Going back to the people who gave you the feedback should not be an optional[…]

Collecting feedback from young people – 10 tips

How can youth charities collect meaningful feedback from the young people they serve? Twelve UK based youth organizations received grants to listen and respond to the young people they serve and in this blog post we share what they learnt. The organizations were all charities supporting young people in the UK and funded by the[…]

Responding to the sound of (mostly) silence

Out of the blue, we sent you, our clients, partners and friends, a short survey that asked what you think about us. Here’s what you told us. Firstly, you told us that an out of the blue survey is not the right way to do this. Ninety-two of you responded, for an overall response rate[…]

Using client feedback to test a theory of change

US nonprofit LIFT, which works to end intergenerational poverty, has been using client feedback to test its theory of change. LIFT works with low income families in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. Parents (who LIFT call members) are paired with volunteer advocates and they work together to achieve the member’s goals. These[…]