While not a resource, keep in mind the concept of proportionality. Your feedback loop’s scope and costs (in time, money and effort) should be proportional to the size of the problem you are trying to solve. As mentioned, a feedback loop is most effective when setting public priorities for large, long-term community issues. Implementing a robust feedback loop may involve a significant effort to organize public resources and substantial time from elected officials or staff. Therefore, the scale of the decision or priority set should be commensurate with the effort to collect public feedback – in other words, a $5,000 public survey should not be used to decide on a $5,000 public investment.
End of step checklist:
- Develop a list of the skills, competencies and other human resources necessary to supplement those of your core team, and identify where those resources are.
- Estimate and determine the process for approval of budget funds for materials, convening, support and accessibility.
- Review your timeline and budget additional time as needed.
- Ensure your budget is realistic and proportional to the problem at hand.