Introducing Feedback Labs’ New Strategy

Feedback Labs | March 17, 2025

Last year, Feedback Labs’ staff and Board took a step back from our day-to-day work to set the three-year strategy that will guide our work in 2025 to 2027. Although we set our strategy before the new US administration launched unprecedented attacks on the work that we and members of our network do, the strategic goals we set still feel vital. Listening and responding to the people at the heart of our work should more than even be guiding lights for nonprofits and philanthropy. While Feedback Labs will continue our field-building role by convening our community, providing feedback trainings and curating tools, and building the ecosystem of incentives and supports for high-quality listening, over the next three years our strategy will focus on practically supporting nonprofits and philanthropy to navigate this time of crisis with high-quality listening. 

As part of our strategy-setting process, we asked members of our community for their input on what we should prioritize. Feedback Labs’ greatest strength has always been the network of feedback enthusiasts whose work and ideas have shaped everything we do, and we are thrilled that more than 70 people responded to the strategy survey we sent out in early 2024 while others shared thoughts on more in-depth strategic questions at Feedback+Denver. Since closing the loop on the feedback we received is important to us – it is one of the newly updated Core Principles of High-Quality Listening and Feedback after all – we wanted to report back on what we heard and how we’ve incorporated it into Feedback Labs’ strategy for the next three years.

Overall, members of our network felt that Feedback Labs’ strategy was on the right track. Respondents gave us an average score of 8.3 out of 10 when asked how effectively Feedback Labs is delivering on its mission.  Staff and our Board concur, and so many elements of our strategy in 2025 to 2027 are continuations of our current strategy. We will continue to primarily focus on building the feedback field in both the United States and around the world by:

• Delivering the trainings and curating the tools that nonprofits and philanthropy need to improve their feedback practices;
• Convening the feedback community through events and Fellowship opportunities so that nonprofits and philanthropy have the support and encouragement they need to improve their feedback practices;
• Strengthening the ecosystem of incentives and support that encourages nonprofits and philanthropy to improve their feedback practices.

We have made several changes to our strategy in the next three years, each informed by the input members of our network shared. Here’s a summary of what we heard from members of our network and how we’ve incorporated their input into our strategy for the next three years:

 

What we heard: Nonprofits and philanthropists increasingly recognize that listening is important, and what they need now is increased guidance, standards and support on how to implement high-quality feedback. Feedback+Denver attendees for example requested that Feedback Labs provide more actionable guidance and support on the “how-to” of implementing high-quality feedback and listening.

What we’re doing: Over the next three years, the focus across all our work will be on the how-to of high-quality feedback and listening, with less emphasis on making the case for why feedback is important. As an example, we recently released updated Core Principles of High-Quality Listening and Feedback and will offer organizations more support on how to implement them

 

What we heard: While equity-focused approaches like trust-based philanthropy seem to be gaining wider acceptance, members of our network feared that political and judicial pushback against equity practices would lead to backsliding on equity commitments by nonprofits and foundations. We’ve seen those fears realized in the first months of the new US administration, with unprecedented attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

What we’re doing: Equity is central to our definition of high-quality listening and feedback, and we remain committed to increasing equity and inclusion and confronting racial injustice in our work, and. Over the last few months, we’ve increased our advocacy for listening to the people most affected by these attacks as an essential part of how philanthropy and nonprofits respond.

 

What we heard: Members of our network want guidance on emerging topics that affect their feedback and listening practices. In particular, they would like Feedback Labs to provide guidance on: 

• • Artificial intelligence: AI has the potential to make it easier to collect and analyze feedback, but also poses risks and can bias who we listen to.
  • Listening as a force for depolarization: There’s an urgent need to address political polarization, and members of our network are looking for guidance on how high-quality listening can help do that. They are also looking for guidance on how to seek feedback equitably and inclusively in highly polarized contexts.

What we’re doing: We will be building our ability to quickly provide resources and guidance on key emerging topics of particular interest to the feedback field. For example, in January we hosted a webinar that took a deeper dive into the opportunities and challenges associated with using AI in listening practices. In 2025, we will focus on helping nonprofits and philanthropy understand how they can listen in ways that decrease polarization, and providing practical guidance on how to listen in polarized environments.

 

What we heard: Feedback Labs is a field leader that should increase the scope and breadth of its work. Many survey respondents commented that they would like to see Feedback Labs reach more organizations in order to influence a critical mass of organizations to improve how they listen.

What we’re doing: Over the next three years we will pilot new ways to grow the breadth and reach of our offerings, which might include experimenting with work in new sectors or themes. For example, we’ve recently experimented with offering our feedback training and coaching support to local school districts.