FEEDBACK LOOPS GUIDE

In cities and towns around the world, public officials and citizens increasingly recognize that greater public engagement in local government affairs leads to more informed, legitimate and effective decisions. When people feel heard and that their opinions are valued, it fosters trust in political institutions and political actors, leading to improved planning and service delivery. People who have been meaningfully engaged are more likely to accept final decisions seeking to address complex problems. Early and regular public engagement provides political leaders with a wider range of insights and ideas, while also offering early warnings about unworkable or deeply unpopular solutions. 

Yet ill-planned or under-resourced public participation efforts can also go awry – leading to frustration, distrust and negative outcomes for both citizens and public officials alike. Often, participation opportunities are not well-advertised or offered at convenient times and locations, or the purpose of the engagement is not always clear. Community members may feel apathetic about taking these opportunities, and public officials may be unsure about how to translate the inputs they receive into government processes. When public participation fails, citizens feel that their time and contributions were not taken seriously, and public officials may decide that community outreach is more burdensome than useful. 

NDI’s “feedback loops” guide assists local authorities to develop and implement meaningful, efficient and cost-effective two-way communication processes to solicit and respond to public feedback on shared policy priorities. It is rooted in over a decade of experience shared by mayors, local council members and senior civil servants in small and medium-sized towns in El Salvador, Mexico, Moldova and Slovakia. Between 2016 and 2022 alone, for example, NDI assisted local politicians in Moldova to conduct more than 290,000 door-to-door discussions with constituents and over 400,000 online interactions, leveraging resulting feedback to resolve more than 1,200 local issues. 

In this guide, which is also available in a dedicated online platform, you will find:

• An overview of the feedback loops process and its core ‘listen”, “respond” and “report” elements;
• The benefits of using feedback loops to make the work of public officials easier;
• Descriptions distinguishing the feedback loops approach from other public participation methods, such as public grievance redress mechanisms and participatory and deliberative democracy practices;
• An overview of the financial, human and material resources needed to effectively plan and implement repeated feedback loops, including alternative options to minimize costs;
• A step-by-step implementation guide describing the 10 steps of the feedback loop procedure along with suggested adaptations to suit any community or local context;
• Real life examples and comparative descriptions of feedback loops in action;
• Sample templates and tools to support each step of the process, ready for adaptation and use in your own feedback loop endeavor;
• Extensive reference resources that can aid public officials and staff in building their expertise on the feedback loops approach and related considerations; and

• Fourteen annexes offering detailed descriptions, templates and examples