14 Top Tips for Collecting Recipient Feedback in CVA Programmes

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟭𝟰 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: 

✍️ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻. It’s not all about getting feedback – it’s also about communicating information about the programme. As is often said, information is power. With information cash recipients can make decisions based on the frequency, duration, and the transfer value you're providing. Develop a communications plan for the life-time of the programme including feedback collection points and different channels e.g. community meetings and hotlines. Share information about the programme clearly and frequently, ensuring frequent and thorough touch points. 

🚧 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. Communications materials on CVA - posters, leaflets and other approaches - can be developed as part of your preparedness efforts and then adapted to specific responses as needed. 

🔑 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. Ensure that communications materials don't rely solely on written information, especially in contexts where illiteracy is high. You may need to hold community meetings, with separate meetings for women and men in some contexts, to communicate key information about the program. 

🗣️𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸.  Involve communities in selecting feedback channels, ensuring marginalized groups are part of the process. Don't assume you know the answer, even if you are from that country, each community is unique. Understanding preferences will help ensure that feedback channels are used effectively, even in short-term programs. 

🎚️ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. Reactive channels (such as hotlines, help desks, and feedback boxes) enable recipients to provide feedback on their own initiative. Proactive feedback channels are important, (such as focus group discussions, surveys, individual household visits) are important and don’t rely on waiting for recipients to initiate contact. Different channels are likely to appeal to different people, so it's important to provide both options so no one misses out.  

📢 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 – Let people know about both reactive and proactive feedback channels. If they don't know how or where to give feedback, opportunities to improve may be missed. 

🕸️ 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲. Feedback from non-participants can help identify emerging needs and issues such as exclusion issues, or community tensions. When people know that feedback is being gathered from the whole community, this can also discourage other risks such as fraud. 

👉𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘁, 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁! When implementing a CVA program, it's crucial to have a neutral, trained person collecting feedback to foster openness and avoid bias. All proactive feedback should be handled by a team member who is not directly involved in implementing the program – such as internal M&E colleagues or third-party monitors.  

👂 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸 – listening to feedback should happen throughout  the program lifecycle to help determine whether activities are responsive to needs and it the program’s objective and intended outcomes are being achieved. 

🔮 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 – Plan the feedback you would like to collect at the following stages – design, start-up, implementation and close-out. 

❓ 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 – Programme participants may not make the distinction between giving feedback to the FSP versus the implementing agency, so it is important for us to ask specific questions related to the delivery mechanism. 

⚙️ 𝗖𝗩𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 - In locations where multiple organizations are implementing various types of CVA, a joint feedback mechanism should be put into place to reduce duplication of efforts, make best use of resources, and increase transparency. 

🔁 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 – This means explaining how feedback was taken into account within the time agreed. Unacknowledged and unaddressed complaints and grievances weigh heavily on populations that are already struggling and jeopardize the trust and confidence of people to share their feedback and complaints. 

🚀 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 – Finally (and this should go without saying), we must adapt and change our programmes in line with feedback as we go along. This is an essential part of ‘client responsiveness’. 

The information for this post was all derived from International Rescue Committee report ‘Feedback channels in cash & voucher assistance. How to apply best practices to CVA’. 

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