Closing the loop

Providing feedback to your stakeholders is often overlooked in engagement projects. This is unfortunate for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is a great opportunity to showcase all your hard work. But most importantly, closing the loop demonstrates to your stakeholders that you appreciated their time and input.

Stakeholders want to know they have had an impact on the outcomes, even if they never see whatever results from the process. Let them know:

• who else you engaged (if not just them),
• how the information or evidence led to the recommendation/s,
• whether any themes or outcomes were more influential than others, and
• what didn’t make it into the recommendations, even though it was supported, and why/why not.

Most importantly, by taking the time to show them they are important, they’ll be more likely to want to contribute to other projects in the future.

Amy Hubbard, from Capire provides some insight and practical tips.