Empowering and centering community voice

At Feedback Labs, our work is rooted in the belief that people are the best experts in their lives and they should drive the policies/programs that affect them. We also aim to leverage our place in the feedback field to amplify and uplift the voices of those most often excluded from the conversation. 

One of Feedback Labs’ flagship programs includes LabStorms. LabStorms are biweekly collaborative problem-solving sessions designed to help an organization wrestle with a feedback-related challenge, with the goal of providing actionable suggestions.

GatherFor aspires to bring the practice of mutual care to their entire community in Brownsville, Brooklyn. They organize “Neighbor Teams” made up of 5-7 community members who gather weekly or bi-weekly to share stories, offer support, and collaborate to achieve their goals. They hope to bring this practice to the whole neighborhood, and their discussion focused on strategies to incentivize community members to come together and be a part of a neighborhood team.

Third Sector is a nonprofit advisory firm in Atlanta that hopes to help young people navigate adulthood after foster care. At Feedback+ Atlanta they presented a LabStorm and shared their feedback challenges. Their discussion considered offering enhanced life skills development, potential strategies to garner interest in post-high school plans, and how to receive youth feedback on these new initiatives without creating a burden. 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Atlanta, Georgia creates opportunities for refugees and immigrants whose lives have been impacted by conflict and disaster to thrive in their Georgia communities. The IRC in Atlanta created the Client Voices Council (CVC) to give clients the opportunity to provide feedback, share their experiences, and voice concerns. They presented their feedback challenges at a recent LabStorm and hoped to gather ideas on how to expand their existing feedback practices and develop feedback loops that take language and cultural differences into account. 

Feedback Labs also announced the selection of the Equity and Feedback Fellows. The one-year fellowship in partnership with Evident Change aims to support leaders in the nonprofit sector with an interest and commitment to listening and acting on feedback to advance equity in their work. In May, the Equity and Feedback Fellows attended a Feedback Crash Course in Jacksonville where they created a plan to address a feedback challenge they face in their work.

Thanks to your support, Feedback Labs was able to power our programs and collectively center community voices in the feedback field. We look forward to continuing to build the feedback field and make feedback the norm in aid, philanthropy, nonprofits, and government. 

Links:

• Announcing the 2023 Equity & Feedback Fellows