Giving feedback at different stages of the influence and participation process will ensure people are kept in the loop and know how their input is being used.
Initial feedback – immediately after the activity:
- Thank people for their time and explain how important their involvement is to your organisation and its work.
- Remind people about what their contribution will be used for.
- Explain what will happen next and give people an idea of timeframes, so that everyone knows where they stand.
- Ask people for their feedback on the session, this can be used to improve future activities.
Interim Feedback
- Sometimes it is helpful to send interim feedback to people, projects often run for many months and waiting long periods of time without receiving feedback can leave people feeling adrift.
- Think about sending an update on the work so far, if you can include summary of what you have learnt and the next steps you are taking people will feel like they are still part of the process.
- Don’t forget to let everyone know when you will be in touch again!
Template
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| This template enables you to ask consistent questions across all activities and throughout your organisations, the feedback people give you will help you understand people’s experience of taking part and identify changes you can make to future activities. |
Full feedback – when the project is complete:
- More detailed feedback can be given at the end of the project, explaining the impact participants have made, and what may have improved or changed as a result.
- If people’s ideas haven’t been implemented, or the project’s outcome was not as expected, explain why.
- Provide copies of or links to any resources that have been developed as a result of people’s participation, such as leaflets, videos or online tools.
- Ask for their feedback on the process and the impact taking part had on them. Use this to make improvements next time you involve people.
Guidance on what to feedback and how you can do this can be found on the following pages.
