SayPro Practical Considerations When Presenting Information for Feedback and Action

  • Ensure clarity of message for specific audiences. The interests and concerns of different audiences vary and will require adapted reports, both in terms of content and language. Reports should communicate different levels of detail according to the audience being addressed. For example, strategic and implementation levels of management require different focuses. At the strategic level, you need to provide a general review of the project’s progress and problems. At the implementation level, more detail is required to help facilitate and coordinate day-to-day project management tasks.
  • Agree on the frequency for communicating information. This will often fit the timing of decision-making meetings. If you are holding a meeting in order to seek immediate feedback, choose a time when people will be able to come.
  • Ensure timeliness. Be sure to present information while there is still momentum, in order to benefit from the feedback. However, if setbacks should take place, be sure to let the audience know and be clear about the delay involved. This issue is not only important for getting feedback, but also for maintaining project credibility.
  • Consider location. Box 6-21 shows the importance of thinking about various conduits of information to be sure that how and where you share your findings will be able to reach people, providing them the opportunity to give feedback.
Box 6-21. Remember to tap into informal conduits of informationVarious consultation processes have been integrated into the District Development project in Zambia as an essential part of the project’s M&E system. Those involved in the consultations are considered to be important conduits into other formal and informal village information dissemination processes. Issues of interest in rural communities can pass quite quickly through informal channels such as markets, social events (church services, etc.), and weddings or funerals. Focused communication campaigns do not penetrate these informal channels easily. Informal venues provide an excellent opportunity for social discussion as people feel more comfortable in these settings to ask questions and talk, forming individual and group opinions.
  • Make effective use of graphic information to facilitate analysis. Visually presented information is often easier to understand. The better and more quickly your information is understood, the more likely you will get direct, useful feedback. There are many ways to present your information pictorially: through the use of graphs, diagrams, maps, pictures, photographs or videos. Some of these presentation forms will arise naturally as a result of your choice of data-gathering method. For instance, by showing the results of a series of mapping exercises or photographs, people can see at a glance what has been measured, how and how it has changed. Other visual portrayals, such as graphs or pie charts, need to be created from the information obtained through statistical data analysis.
  • Keep focused on your task. A feedback session can strand in a general talking event with no clear outcomes. Plan the event carefully around the anticipated outputs – e.g. clarifications, additional insights, conclusions, action steps, etc. Don’t rely on improvisation as your main facilitation strategy. It is always necessary but too much can lead to confusion. Avoid imposing ideas by thinking how people are most likely to share their thoughts on the M&E data. Be sincere in the reporting – include the new insights, otherwise participation will become a farce.

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