Participation is not ‘nice to have,’ it’s essential
About: Participation, participatory approach, participant-centered. These are all buzz-words, and also words I use frequently. In this post, I’m taking a moment to (1) talk about the why behind a participatory approach to evaluation and strategy work and (2) provide some practical tips to increase participation in your next project, whether an evaluation or a strategic plan.
What do all these scenarios have in common?
A network of 18 independent nonprofits wants to better communicate their work and impact. They all work in child welfare and have the same goals, however how they measure their work and talk about it varies. Some of the leaders see that together, they could tell a more complete and compelling and make a stronger case for their work. Others feel threatened by the idea of statewide data metrics--they worry it will create more work for staff, and could undermine the data they need for grants, and typically include in their annual reports and other communication.
A community is being affected by an increase in private development. The county government has the opportunity to partner with the private sector and make infrastructure improvements for the local community. The local community has strong opinions about the private development and general distrust based on prior interactions with the county, where they didn’t feel their voices were heard.
A nonprofit is developing a new Strategic Plan that will guide their work for the next three years. They will be making decisions about programming, geographic service area, and community engagement strategies. These decisions will inform internal budgeting and hiring.
All three of these projects have the potential to proactively and thoughtfully engage interest-holders. The first two are likely to have swift and dire consequences if they don’t proactively involve the community--e.g. Likely not to get over the finish line in any productive way. The third might go under the radar, but is a missed opportunity for a more relevant and inclusive strategic plan.
Why does participation matter?
”At the human scale, in order to create a world that works for more people, for more life, we have to collaborate on the process of dreaming and visioning and implementing that world. We have to recognize that a multitude of realities have, do and will exist.”
-adrianne maree brown, Emergent Strategy 2017
Interest-holders or stakeholders are people or entities who are:
Impacted by the work
Able to influence the work
Interest-holders can be internal (e.g., leadership, staff, board members) or external (e.g., program partners, recipients, and other impacted or interested community members).
Involving interest-holders is not just ethical and best-practice, it is critical for long-term success and sustainability.
Often-times nonprofits are short on time and budget and may want to take short-cuts to information gathering and decision-making. Skimping on engagement is not the solution. Why? The answers are pretty common-sense.
We support what we create: We are more invested in what we create. If we are not involved in something, it is easy for us to criticize or dismiss it. When we are involved in the creation process, we are intimately familiar with the compromises, the ‘why’ and the nuance--we are much more likely to defend and support.
The results are better: When we neglect to include key interest-holders, there are gaps in our solutions. For example, in scenario #1, if we don’t include all the nonprofits and provide chances for feedback the fears of the initial resisters could come true--we might end-up with recommendations that are not sustainable for staff or that fail to consider existing grant requirements. Likewise, in scenario #3, if we don’t check-in with program recipients, we will have gaps in our understanding about what’s working and where improvements are actually needed. We could miss opportunities to improve the program and thus better serve the community, engage more participants, grow the organization, etc.
Sustainability: Better results + interest-holder investments = greater likelihood of sustainability.
Sustainability requires high quality solutions AND support for those solutions. Both are essential.
We know humans are not fully rational beings, so even the best crafted solutions will not automatically garner support.
Likewise, if you have a high level of engagement, but fail to create the structure and rigor that results in high quality solutions, engagement can backfire--now we have our interest-holders paying attention and they’re not happy! Cue, more distrust and frustration.
OK--hopefully you’re sold on the importance of participation. Hopefully you see it’s not a ‘nice to have’ but at the heart of your success. Here are my tips to create strong engagement.
Tips for meaningful engagement:
To meaningfully invite participation we need to consider:
Who to engage
How to engage them
Interest-holder mapping :
This addresses #1. Here are two common options for thinking through stakeholders, I personally like option A, because it’s really helpful in the next stage of planning.
Interest/influence grid --Here’s an example to help you get started. You can do this on a virtual whiteboard platform, in a conference room with a white board, or a simple shared Google doc.
Mind map--This can be creative, flowy and is fun to build-out with teams in the flesh, or in virtual spaces
2. Intentional planning
How you engage a professional partner is often different than how you engage a client, board member, or employee. Get intentional about what level of engagement is appropriate, and what options are available. Consider accessibility, and accommodations including location and compensation. Here are a few questions to get you thinking. Note--there are many possible questions, depending on your unique circumstances.
Who is best suited to co-design this process/project with us?
Who is best suited for specific involvement? (e.g. providing input at certain point(s) throughout the project?)
Who should be looped in and informed, but may not be closely involved?
What are potential accessibility needs of our interest-holders?
What are the barriers to participation and how can we address them?
Are there interest-holders who would not otherwise be paid for their engagement? If so, how can we offer reasonable compensation that promotes equity and respect for time and expertise?
Do we have a clear plan to use any input we receive?
Who is best positioned to reach out to interest-holders?
A consultant can help customize this conversation to fit your unique needs, and co-design an engagement plan that’s appropriate for your project.
3. Engage early. Meaningful engagement means it is not an afterthought, but baked into the very core of the work.
4. Be transparent. Let your interest-holders know how their input will be incorporated. Share an overview of the process, how decisions will be made, and be honest about constraints.
5. Remember to follow-up. Loop back at key points during the process, and after it’s finished. Let your interest-holders know how you used their feedback, and results.
Need support with engagement?
At LAS Visions, we love working with nonprofits and civic teams to design realistics, inspiring and thorough engagement plans. This can include facilitating committees, designing data collection tools, facilitating community listening sessions, organizing data walks, and more.
If you want help planning and implementing a participatory process, get in touch!
