À ce stade, vous disposez d’une équipe concentrée sur un objectif consistant à faire entendre les voix des constituants et les priorités publiques sur un processus ou une décision de gouvernance locale. Vous avez un planning général en tête, incluant les livrables. Dans cette étape, vous énumérerez les ressources dont vous avez besoin pour réaliser ce plan. Notez que cette étape a un impact étroit sur ce qui est réalisable à l'étape 4 : Concevoir des engagements publics ; une réflexion sur les questions et les activités de cette étape peut être utile lors de l’établissement de votre budget.
Divisez vos besoins en ressources en trois catégories générales : ressources humaines, fonds budgétaires et temps.
Human resources:
This includes the core team members who organize and implement the feedback loop, along with supporting partners. The core team will be responsible for designing and implementing the steps of the feedback loop, but these inputs may need to be received and used by other people within the local authority administration. Within human resources consider skills and time.
- Communication and writing skills: Public speaking and communication skills are important but not universal among public servants. Be sure to craft your communications so that they are short, easy to read, and informative. If literacy is not universal in your community, consider alternate communication methods and routes - perhaps rely on graphics or pictures, reach citizens through the radio, or record a short video to post on social media. Many public officials request support with their public speaking skills; public speaking and presentations often make people nervous! If you are one of these people, we include some templates and scripts in the sections below, as well as in Annex XX. Consider as well the interpersonal skills of your team and cultural mores you need to navigate, especially in light of the do no harm questions above: Are you using inclusive language? Are you being respectful and professional to residents? The words you use in your communication matter: consult the resources in the do no harm section for additional guidance on using inclusive, people-first language and symbols.
- Research and analysis skills: The data collection and analysis component of the feedback loop can benefit from research skills of your team members. For example, does anyone in your team regularly work with data analysis software (open source tools such as Google Sheets to pay-walled and more advanced tools such as Microsoft Office or Atlas.ti). While we recommend keeping your data collection straightforward to ease the time and complexity of analysis (meaning you should need nothing more complicated than a spreadsheet), you may decide more powerful statistical and qualitative analysis tools are worthwhile. In addition, does anyone on your team have experience conducting focus groups, mediating a public dialogue or discussion, or conducting interviews? These skills can be useful depending on your selected outreach methods. Who is the project manager? Do they have the organizational skills to manage knowledge, track and store documents, and account for necessary privacy controls if needed?
- Language skills: If your community is composed of various language communities, including refugees and migrants, consider your team’s ability to communicate with them. Will you need to plan for interpretation or translation of materials?
- Networks and relationships: Especially in a team of local elected officials, you likely have a multitude of strong relationships to local community groups, bodies, and individuals. Consider whether these relationships can prove useful to the feedback loop exercise. For example, maybe an alumni association or connection to a local university can bring expertise in data analysis to bear on the cheap.
- Time and availability: Certain local authorities do not pay or pay only a nominal stipend to local elected officials. As a result, these local elected officials continue to work in their occupations, balancing their official duties with their other professional obligations. Make sure to plan ahead for the amount of time your team members can dedicate (realistically) to meetings and activities. Plan ahead: identify volunteers or others to supplement or replace efforts from overwhelmed teammates.
- Other factors: Consider how your team members will be received as they implement the process. Do they have the public credibility or legitimacy to hold public meetings and be trusted interlocutors by residents? If not, consider bringing in local leaders - the mayor, community or religious figures - to open or kick off public dialogue events.
If you are concerned that these skills are missing, and you are struggling to recruit for these skills, consider seeking out training. Local or national civil society organizations, associations, and universities may offer free or fee-based courses or training on the above skills, as well as soft skills like project management and organization.
Consider the approvals you may need - or the expectations you will need to set and manage - to ensure these human resources and skills are available to support the project when you need them. Will staff and officials only act if support for feedback loop activities is part of their key performance indicators or formal deliverables, or can they realistically be expected to do ‘extra’ or ‘volunteer’ work? Formal assignments may require the support or direct engagement of the mayor (to provide approvals and issue directions) and/or the deputy mayor or chief of staff (depending on who is responsible for managing or overseeing staff and agencies within city hall, including hiring and firing decisions). Help these managers to help you by having a plan: define scopes of work for who you will need, for what, and when (including estimates of time commitments). Plans inevitably change, but making the request early makes it easier to adapt on the go.