Constituent voice: Technical note 1

This paper from Keystone Accountability provides detailed guidance in the use of Constituent Voice, which is a methodology aimed at cultivating a voice of constituents of an organisation.

The guide outlines a five-step process for designing and implementing Constituent Voice with clear examples and tips for each stage. 

Excerpt

"Over the past few years of working with diverse organizations, Keystone has learned that there are no shortcuts to the successful cultivation of Constituent Voice. Every step in the operational cycle of Constituent Voice, which we have termed the Hirschman Voice Cycle (pictured below), is necessary to realize intended outcomes.

Our overriding lesson from the past few years of client work is that collecting feedback – listening – is not enough. It is necessary to land what you hear in transparent performance metrics. In order to understand the stories behind the measures, it is necessary to hold a dialogue with your constituents. We call this sense-making. Then you must act on the resulting insight. Finally, ongoing Constituent Voice feedback will let you know if corrective actions are having their desired effects."

Contents

  • Stage 1 • Design 8
    • Balancing four measurement design principles 8
    • Evidence on four dimensions of performance 10
    • Importance 10
    • Quality of Service 11
    • Quality of Relationship 12
    • Outcomes 13
  • Stage 2 • Collect 14
    • Anonymous vs. non-anonymous & independently collected vs. self-collected 15
    • Bi-modal data collection: light and heavy 17
  • Stage 3 • Analyze 20
    • Segment 20
    • Triangulate 23
    • Benchmark 25
    • Visualize 26
    • Towards indexes 27
  • Stage 4 • Dialogue 28
    • Broadcasting and publishing 29
    • Group discussions and key informant interviews 29
    • Informal follow up investigations 30
    • Co-creation 31
    • Public reporting 31
    • Stage 5 • Course Correct 32

Sources

Keystone Accountability. (2014). Constituent Voice: Technical Note 1 (Version 1.1). Retrieved from: https://keystoneaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Technical-Note-1.pdf

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