In 2017, ORS Impact collected data from the 46 nonprofits that received Listen4Good (L4G) grants in 2016. ORS invited a program manager and an agency leader from each organization to complete a survey at the conclusion of their first year implementing feedback loops. Agency leaders were asked to provide their perspective on their organizations’ progress toward building feedback loops. Program managers were asked more detailed questions related to the L4G initiative. This report is part of an overall Listen4Good evaluation, which will later include data collection at the end of the grant, as well as follow-up to understand longer-term institutionalization and sustainability.
Key findings
Overall, early 12-month data is overwhelmingly positive. Some key findings include:
- L4G is frequently helping embed feedback as a regular organizational practice and leading to some meaningful changes within grantee organizations
- The majority (73%) of program managers find useful variation in their feedback data
- About one-third of organizations reported using Listen4Good data to make a change to operations, program offering, and/or how staff interact with clients
- On the whole, grantees report positive experiences from the process of sharing back information to their clients
- Agency leaders report positive experiences sharing what they are learning with their co-funder
- Grantees find ad hoc and individualized technical assistance most valuable and “just right,” but there is some interest for more technical assistance in a few areas
- Overall, grantees feel their capacity is improving in all aspects of the L4G process and agency leaders appreciate the benefits to organizational capacity from their involvement with L4G
- The majority of grantee organizations intend to both continue and increase their implementation of feedback after the grant, with more than half already expanding the use of feedback loops into other areas of work
Other Insights
- Sarah Stachowiak
- ORS Impact
