Here at Feedback Labs we are always looking for ways to incorporate feedback into our work. It isn’t always easy to ask for, hear and act on honest feedback, and we are constantly striving to improve our practice. In honour of the new year, we share with you our 2017 Feedback Resolutions!
At Feedback Labs we talk a lot about closing the loop, but how do you initiate a feedback loop in the first place? Setting yourself and your program up for success starts with smart design. DeCODE (the Global Delivery Initiative’s newest product) is a tool that can help you do just that.
A leadership compact signed by champions from 14 different international development organizations. A burgeoning online community sharing resources and ideas for adaptive development across agencies and sectors. A growing library of resources to link the digital development and development effectiveness communities.
As the year runs down we’re in a reflective mood at Feedback Labs. It’s been a year of exciting growth for us: our team doubled in size, with Meg and Megan joining Sarah and Dennis. Our network grew too: this year we reached over 200 organizations through LabStorms, Summits, and initiatives like the Practical Adaptation Network.
I recently published the latest paper in AGI’s Art of Delivery series. That paper, Shoulder to Shoulder, outlines how external actors, particularly international partners, can work effectively with developing country governments to help them deliver services while building government capability.
Are we on the cusp of a global age of authoritarianism? You could be forgiven for thinking so.
Earlier this year, Feedback Labs hosted Unpack Impact for the first Decolonizing Design LabStorm, where they presented a recipe for a user-centered design process. Jess Rimington and Joanna Levitt Cea of Unpack Impact spent the past few months categorizing these ingredients into actionable, quantifiable steps.
Last month, more than 140 feedback enthusiasts gathered in Washington DC at the second annual Feedback Summit – Feedback Summit 2016: From Talk to Action. This year’s conversations centered on concrete, practical steps towards closing feedback loops in our work.
In October, Dennis spoke at Impact Convergence in Atlanta on the topic of social entrepreneurship and the frontiers of impact measurement. In preparing his talking points, we had to ask ourselves, what are the frontiers of impact measurement?
At the Feedback Summit 2016: From Talk to Action, we convened 80 different organizations that spanned from domestic service-providers and governments, to international aid agencies and practitioners, to US and UK funding organizations. The two days were filled with conversation around how to make the closing of feedback loops a feasible practice.