Team composition – How many people, and who does what?
The size and composition of the core team will depend on the municipality’s size, staffing resources and whether the approach is direct or supervisory. In small local governments or communities, the team may represent an all-hands-on-deck effort where all available staff or relevant political officeholders contribute to a joint effort. In smaller Moldovan towns (around 1,000 residents), the typical core team size is around four individuals, excluding the mayor and key decision-makers. This size has proven large enough to distribute questionnaires, analyze data, convene public meetings and issue updates to the public, but it limits effective outreach across different sectors of the community. In larger, better-resourced municipalities or those with more formalized departments and agencies, the core team may be larger. In Slovakia, for example, one team had seven local officials (in Vráble, with around 10,000 residents), which proved large enough to reach large cross sections of the community and complete the other steps. The team in another similarly sized city (Šurany) only had three to four active members and accordingly gathered fewer public responses.
When forming a team, leaders need to consider diversity and inclusiveness. Are women and relevant marginalized or politically underrepresented groups (for example, ethnic, language, youth, people with disabilities and religious minorities) included? Research indicates that the presence of women and marginalized groups (especially those historically excluded from decision-making positions) will impact how the team operates and makes decisions, how the team plans outreach and more. A team that better represents the community can bring in a greater diversity of perspectives and values that can contribute to identifying issues and solutions and designing more inclusive outreach.51
Regardless of the size of the team, a number of specific roles and responsibilities will need to be fulfilled. For larger teams, each role may be filled by an individual member or shared by several members; for smaller teams, members will likely serve multiple roles as needed. The core team should handle the following list of roles and responsibilities; suggested specific responsibilities are included under each role. Adapt this list to your context and pay attention to lines of accountability or hierarchy within your municipality. As a final note, try to ensure that your core team is diverse, representative and inclusive, such as by having a balance of women and men on the team. A larger team size may be helpful to ensure diverse inclusion is achieved (for example, to ensure each canvassing team going door-to-door has at least two people, or one man and one woman if that is important for all residents to feel comfortable answering).
Decision-maker and process manager:
This individual leads and is responsible for the overall process and managing the work of the core team. They sign process documents, authorize purchases and expenses, and are the chief point of contact and spokesperson within the government and to the public. If they are not the mayor, council leader or similar officeholder, they will communicate and report to these leaders at higher levels for requisite buy-in, progress updates or requests for support. This individual should focus on solutions and delivery; they will be responsible for translating findings into actions to be taken by the local authority. They are the initial recipient of the data collection and analysis and will use these inputs to guide recommendations and policy deliberations within the government administration. They will likely present and discuss the team’s findings and analysis with the mayor, local council and other government officials. Even if they are not making final decisions on the next steps, they will likely be responsible for implementing those next steps and working with their communications lead to keep the public informed and engaged.
In Slovakia, this role was most often played by the deputy mayor, a directly elected position. This member should be an elected representative or a high-ranking official in the municipal administration (such as a city manager, chief of staff or chief executive officer) with some degree of decision-making authority. Ideally, this person should be backed with the confidence of the mayor (or other chief decision-maker).
Secretary and rapporteur:
This individual is the administrative engine of the team, responsible for its smooth functioning, meeting deadlines and navigating bureaucratic red tape. The role may be filled by a single individual or small team of one to two persons who comprise the secretariat to prepare meeting agendas, take minutes of meeting discussion points, coordinate internal communications between team members, and manage notifications between the team and other departments. They also play a lead role in organizing public events and meetings. For this role, consider a high-profile staff member known within the local administration and experienced with its procedures, and possibly a supporting colleague.
Finance officer:
This individual will be responsible for managing the team’s internal accounting and assisting the team in navigating the local budget process as relevant. They will be responsible for keeping the team on budget, processing expenses and overseeing day-to-day accounting. In addition, if the feedback loop process engages with the budget process directly or indirectly, the finance officer will have additional responsibilities and can advise on the budget process. They will assist the team in coordinating strategy, timeline and action plans with the municipal finance team. They may also offer advice as the team deliberates on priorities and responses, including estimating the costs of potential responses and, later as relevant, assisting the team in translating public commitments into concrete budget initiatives. For this role, consider a staff member familiar with the municipality’s finances and budget process who can liaise with the municipality’s budget or finance staff.
Legal advisor:
The team will need to be aware of any legal obligations or policies relevant to the process, such as during data collection (Step 4). This individual – ideally a lawyer – will be responsible for ensuring that the process accounts for applicable laws and regulations. They will advise on how the feedback loop fits within the local and national policy framework; handle complaints or appeals that may arise during the process; and draft contracts, policies or memoranda governing the functioning of the feedback loop team and its connections to other municipal functions and departments.
For this role, select someone with the legal background and experience to support the process and communicate with other legal advisors, in-house counsels or attorneys in the municipal government, other government bodies, or relevant international and domestic organizations, such as donors, businesses and NGOs. Depending on your resources and context, this may not be a permanent member of the team, but you should still access legal advice as needed during the process.
Member in charge of data collection and analysis:
This team member will be responsible for the data component of the process and play a key role in generating content for communication and transparency efforts. In the early stages, they should lead the communication with other municipal departments and bodies to ensure the team is aware of and has access to the data already available to the municipality, as well as the means of collecting and analyzing data that the municipal administration already uses. This information can be gathered during the context analysis and self-assessment stages (see Step 1). This team member will lead discussions and design in Step 4 (data collection) and Step 5 (data analysis). This team member will be responsible for guiding the development of suitable data collection instruments that align with the team’s analytical capabilities; alternatively, they should be prepared to recruit data analysts and experts to support this analysis. This member should consider the capacity for gender analysis. They will oversee data analysis, report findings to the team and prepare data for publication or public sharing, such as through charts and other visualizations. This member should work with the legal advisor to ensure data management protocols meet national or local standards and policies. They should also work closely with the team member in charge of public communications to develop clear communications and facilitate the open and transparent sharing of information around the process.
This individual may be a municipal staff member but could also be identified within the community, such as from civil society or a local university. They will need to coordinate with the legal advisor on data governance (with regard to privacy).
Member in charge of citizen engagement and communication:
This member will lead and manage communications to members of the public and CSOs during the feedback loop process. They will draft public statements, raise awareness through regular and social media and assist with organizing public events, such as drafting talking points and preparing responses to frequently asked questions. They will work with the member in charge of data to present findings, recommendations and public feedback in regular reports and public updates. They will be the key point of contact for open data, transparency issues and all issues relating to the publication of and public access to information. This member will have an increasingly important role as the process unfolds – in early stages, they will create awareness and update the general public on the process. In the final and most important stages (closing the loop), they will play a key role in tracking and reporting progress toward meeting commitments or priorities.
This individual should be a municipal staff member, perhaps a spokesperson or communications professional, or a staff member within their office. This role should work closely with the process manager, secretary and data lead to develop communications that are informative, relevant and responsive to the public.