Closing the loop is essential for any engagement. To close the loop, you communicate to your community and stakeholders the outcome of your project and thank them for their contributions and efforts.
If you don’t close the loop, you risk your community tiring of community engagement, losing trust in your organization, and feeling like they shouldn’t contribute because their thoughts and opinions are irrelevant.
When closing the loop:
Include reporting and present outcomes in the project timeline and budget
Tell participants how their contributions will be used in the decision-making process
Send thank you letters or emails to participants and key stakeholders
Publish reports summarizing the outcomes of the project and ensure it is accessible to everyone by including multiple forms
Report on the issues and suggestions arising from community contributions and advise participants on the decision taken and next steps of the consultation
Ask participants for feedback on the consultation process and implement this in your next project
Closing the loop can be as simple as posting your project updates or outcomes in the project description, newsletter, or news articles and sending thank-you emails to participants.
These communications are also the best place to state the next steps or future consultation stages and encourage your participants to keep getting involved.