Feedback for Evaluating Client Engagement

Fariha Raisa, Feedback Labs | August 31, 2023

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Committed to enhancing children’s education in rural Liberia, Learning Squared Liberia provides educational opportunities for children with the goal of increasing literacy rates and utilizing education to improve civic engagement. Students between the ages of 6 and 20 who reside in rural areas of Liberia are given the chance to receive a high-quality education at an affordable price through Learning Squared Liberia’s Support for Rural Education program.

Learning Squared also developed a program for women to increase their reach in the communities they support. With interest-free microloans aimed at fostering their entrepreneurial skills, the Social Microfinance for Rural Women program adopts a strategic approach to enhancing Liberian women’s economic empowerment in their communities. Lastly, through the Civic and Community Engagement program, Learning Squared supports youth, women, individuals with disabilities, traditional leaders, and community leaders to increase their civic knowledge and active engagement.

Learning Squared Liberia conducts community meetings and discussions between local leaders, school administrations, parents, and local communities in the project areas. Though they are continually learning and evaluating to improve their program, it can be difficult to attract newcomers. They recently presented in a LabStorm to brainstorm feedback strategies in order to evaluate the effectiveness of their client engagement and social accountability initiatives.

Building local partnerships for expanding outreach. Collaborating with local organizations such as community centers, churches, libraries, and other local institutions would facilitate reaching out to individuals and groups that were difficult to reach. This might help in the development of partnerships with community leaders and groups that can serve as a platform for engaging and informing locals. Moreover, community volunteers can be leveraged to reach out to individuals in rural areas. If there are volunteers going into rural communities, even if they are not related to Learning Squared, training them on programs can reduce the need to recruit new volunteers. For example, nurses going into a rural community can distribute flyers on behalf of Learning Squared Liberia.

Asking the right questions for evaluation. To analyze the effectiveness of client engagement and the program initiatives, the LabStorm discussion involved coming up with specific questions. Examples included comparing the proportion of clients participating in the program activities against the planned target. A measure of clients expressing demand for quality services was also encouraged. Lastly, attendees recommended using social media to get feedback from clients.

Buy-in from the local community leaders. The discussion stressed the importance of working with local leaders and influential members of the community when working on a new project. Stakeholders who will be working with Learning Squared throughout the duration of the project could be identified early on to facilitate buy-in. The use of community radio was highly encouraged when launching a new project. Furthermore, it was advised that the community be reached where they are; this would include learning their habits and what they need. Going to town halls where the community is already showing up would be helpful in learning the local culture and patterns.

The engaging LabStorm session came to a close with Learning Squared elaborating on the need for community engagement and holistic participation in their program design. The ideas discussed in the session would be helpful, as Learning Squared prioritizes getting people to speak up from the ground up.

Learn More About LabStorms

LabStorms are collaborative problem-solving sessions designed to help organizations tackle feedback-related challenges or share what’s working well in their practice.