Obtaining and Using Feedback from Participants

1. Obtaining and Using Feedback from Participants

2. What do we mean by feedback from participants? • Feedback from participants consists of reactions to, opinions about, and/or information on what you do from those to whom it’s offered or who benefit from it. • Feedback may be: • Positive, negative, or neutral. • Objective or subjective. • Enhanced by knowledge of community history, personalities and relationships, culture, etc. • Limited by lack of knowledge, information, or understanding. • Solicited or unsolicited. • Direct or indirect.

3. Why do you need feedback from participants? • It’s part of being customer-centered. • It gives you tools to improve your program. • It allows you to respond to changes in the community, the population, or the situation. • It can give you information about the history of the community, the history of your issue in the community, or the history of your population. • It can inform you about personalities and relationships in the community and/or the population you’re working with.

4. Why do you need feedback from participants? (cont.) • It can tell you when your methods or approach aren’t working. • It can tell you when you’re treating people in ways that make them feel uncomfortable, angry, or otherwise disrespected. • It can help you deal with what’s important to participants, even though that may not be your major goal. • It can assure that your objectives make as much sense for participants as they do for you.

5. Who are participants that can offer feedback? • Adults and teens with no intellectual, psychological, or social barriers. • People with mental illness. • Children. • At-risk or troubled youth. • Developmentally delayed or retarded teens and adults. • Speakers of other than the majority language. • People who have left the program.

6. When might you ask for feedback from participants? • Before you begin an effort (PLAN). • As you develop a program, initiative, or intervention (DO). • Before you implement your plan (CHECK). • While the work progresses and in evaluating it (ACT). • In making adjustments and starting the cycle again (ANALYZE).

7. How do you obtain feedbackfrom participants? • You use one or more methods of asking for feedback: • Surveys. • Individual interviews. • Small group interviews and focus groups. • Town meeting or whole-program format meetings. • Journals. • You try to increase your chances of getting good feedback by: • Guaranteeing anonymity. • Explaining why you need feedback, and how you’ll use it. • Being clear about exactly what kind of feedback you want. • Sharing the results with participants.

8. How do you obtain feedbackfrom participants? • Use it to understand the needs of the community. • Use it to respond to changes in the situation of participants, the community, the political climate, etc. • Use it to improve your program by responding to the need for change in attitudes, methods, content, etc. • Use it to create or strengthen an organizational culture that encourages and welcomes feedback, and uses it well.