How can you use community feedback to improve digital inclusion programs?

Digital inclusion is the goal of ensuring that everyone has access, skills, and confidence to use digital technologies for their personal, social, and economic benefit. Libraries are key players in promoting and supporting digital inclusion, especially for marginalized and underserved communities. However, to design and deliver effective digital inclusion programs, libraries need to understand the needs, preferences, and feedback of their users and potential users. In this article, you will learn how to use community feedback to improve your digital inclusion programs and make them more relevant, engaging, and impactful.

1 Why feedback matters

Feedback is the information that you receive from your users or stakeholders about their experiences, opinions, and suggestions regarding your digital inclusion programs. This feedback can help you evaluate the outcomes and impacts of your programs, identify the strengths and weaknesses, make adjustments or changes to improve your programs, engage with users and stakeholders, and demonstrate accountability and transparency to funders, partners, and community. By leveraging feedback, you can measure your progress towards digital inclusion goals and gain insight into what works and what doesn’t.

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Kim Cooper

President and CEO at Youth Culture Inc.
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It's essential to gather feedback to ensure that services cater to community needs. However, collecting feedback isn't enough - it's crucial that we use inclusive mechanisms and diverse methods to guarantee everyone has a voice. Traditional surveys may not be accessible to everyone, so implementing feedback mechanisms that reflect diversity will help us try and meet community needs. I myself have encountered surveys that I have trouble reading and/or are not accessible with a screen reader so if we go to the effort of creating a survey, let's commit to taking the next step to ensure we set ourselves up for success by maximizing engagement through accessible formats and methods.

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2 How to collect feedback

Collecting feedback from users and stakeholders is essential, but the method depends on the purpose, resources, and context. Surveys are often used to ask users or stakeholders to rate or rank questions about programs. Interviews can be one-on-one or in a group setting to have a more detailed conversation. Focus groups are a way to facilitate a discussion on programs with a small group of people. Observations can be used to document behaviors, reactions, and interactions when users participate in programs or use digital resources. Lastly, feedback forms are useful for rating, commenting, or suggesting improvements at the end of programs or sessions.

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Kim Cooper

President and CEO at Youth Culture Inc.
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It's a missed opportunity to gather feedback exclusively from a specific population, thus missing out on essential input from individuals outside of our intended audience. In order to make lasting progress in our community, it's crucial to solicit feedback from a diverse range of sources, including youth, community leaders, industry stakeholders, and government officials. By incorporating input from a variety of perspectives, we can create meaningful change that reflects the needs and desires of our entire community. Let's be honest, change often requires finances and resources and in order for that support to happen, we need stakeholders at the table.

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3 How to analyze feedback

Once you have collected feedback from your users or stakeholders, you need to analyze it to extract meaningful and actionable insights. To do this, you can use tools such as spreadsheets, databases, or software to organize the feedback into categories, themes, or patterns. Additionally, you can use codes, labels, or tags to mark the feedback according to your criteria or indicators. To quantify the feedback, statistics, graphs, or charts can be used to show the frequency, distribution, or correlation of the responses. You can also use benchmarks, targets, or averages to compare the feedback with your expectations or standards. Qualifying the feedback includes using narratives, quotes, or stories to show the depth, diversity, or complexity of the responses. Examples, cases, or scenarios can also be used to illustrate the feedback with real-life situations or experiences. Lastly, interpreting the feedback involves using logic, reasoning, or frameworks to explain the causes, consequences, or implications of the responses. Evidence, references, or theories can be used to support or challenge the feedback with relevant and reliable sources.

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4 How to use feedback

Once you have analyzed feedback from your users or stakeholders, you need to use it to make your digital inclusion programs more responsive, effective, and sustainable. You can communicate the feedback to inform them about the results, findings, or recommendations of your feedback analysis. This can be done through different formats, such as reports, presentations, newsletters, or social media. You can also act on the feedback by making changes, adjustments, or innovations to your digital inclusion programs based on the feedback. Strategies like prioritizing, piloting, or scaling can help you do this in a feasible and effective way. Additionally, tracking the feedback by measuring, evaluating, or reporting on the outcomes, impacts, or changes of your digital inclusion programs after implementing the feedback is important. Tools like indicators, metrics, or dashboards can help you do this in a systematic and consistent way. Lastly, learning from the feedback by reflecting, reviewing, or revising your digital inclusion programs based on the feedback is essential. Methods like debriefing, feedback loops, or learning circles can help you do this in a collaborative and continuous way.

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5 How to improve feedback

Feedback is not a one-time or static process, but a dynamic and ongoing cycle that requires constant improvement and adaptation. To improve your feedback process, plan your feedback by defining your purpose, objectives, and questions for collecting and using feedback. Additionally, involve your users and stakeholders by consulting, engaging, or co-creating your digital inclusion programs and feedback process. Furthermore, diversify your feedback by using different methods, sources, and perspectives to collect and use feedback. Lastly, test your feedback by piloting, experimenting, or prototyping your digital inclusion programs and feedback process before scaling or expanding them. All of these steps will help you ensure that you are getting the most out of your feedback process.

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Kim Cooper

President and CEO at Youth Culture Inc.
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There is no denying that the world we live in is moving at an incredibly fast pace, and as a result, it's easy to forget the significance of personal interaction. When it comes to getting a community involved in answering surveys and feeling a part of the initiative, there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction, preferably in-person. Human connection builds trust and rapport, By taking the time to meet with people and hear their voices with empathy, you show your community that their opinions matter. It's powerful stuff: active listening and connection.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use community feedback to improve digital inclusion programs?

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1 Why feedback matters

2 How to collect feedback

3 How to analyze feedback

4 How to use feedback

5 How to improve feedback

6 Here’s what else to consider

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How can you use community feedback to improve digital inclusion programs?

1

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3

4

5

6

1 Why feedback matters

2 How to collect feedback

3 How to analyze feedback

4 How to use feedback

5 How to improve feedback

6 Here’s what else to consider

Library Services

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