Two-way communication and feedback

Two-way feedback in the communication loop should be aimed at improving relationships between data publishers and data users.

It should produce insights that improve what data is shared, how it is utilised and how it can be further developed.

Two-way communication offers an outlet for all parties to express their concerns, ideas, opinions and needs. This is what helps to build and grow thriving partnerships. A main component of the communication loop is instigating feedback.

It is the responsibility of all parties to share constructive and respectful feedback, reflect on the feedback and respond accordingly. The best feedback helps others to recognise their strengths and suggests opportunities to build on those strengths, as well as highlighting areas for improvement.

Approaches for effective two-way communication between data publishers and data users

1) Focus on the shared value/improvement for all. Address the situation that can be improved, not the person or their identity or their organisation. Most people want to be part of effecting positive change/part of the solution.

2) Be open. Sometimes feedback can challenge the way we are used to doing things. But feedback alone is not useful if we are unwilling to let go of preconceived ideas about how things should be done. There is always room for improvement if we are willing to accept it. See the value of reducing organisational blind spots and commit to adapting attitudes and ways of working. You can play a role by offering to trial new ideas with colleagues or raise them with senior leaders and decision-makers in your organisation to see if it is something that can be taken forward.

3) Take responsibility for growth. Applying a growth mindset is important because a growth mindset says that constructive criticism is valuable for learning. A growth mindset says we ought to reframe challenges as learning opportunities. We should aim to take ownership and responsibility for the value loop – ensuring everyone benefits from improvements.

4) Ask for feedback often. Inviting feedback regularly creates reassurance that people are being listened to; a culture of open communication is important and strengthens the value loop beyond a tick box exercise or an annual survey. This is also key for staying ahead of the curve when it comes to upcoming challenges or changing data requirements.

Does your organisation or project currently fit the bill for effective two-way communication with data users?

What might effective communication look like?

The following table gives examples of what we might ask to stimulate a conversation for useful two-way feedback between data publishers and data users.

Data publishers	Data users
How do you use the data we publish?	How can I use the data you publish?
Is the data easily accessible for you? (format, permissions, visibility)	Can I access the data in these formats? (raw data, designed charts, editable charts, Excel tables, other)
How often do you need this data?	How often will this data be updated? Will historic data be amended?
Is the data disaggregated in ways that are useful to you? Are there specific time stamps or time periods required?	Can the data be disaggregated in different ways? (financial year vs calendar year, weekly vs monthly, per household vs per person)
What data challenges are you anticipating in future? What do you expect of those publishing data?	What data challenges are you anticipating in future? What do you expect of data users over time?
How do you prefer to engage? (online forum, monthly emails, quarterly surveys)	How do you prefer to engage? (email feedback, invite to team meetings)
How could the data offer be improved?	How could my use of the data be improved?

In addition, data users may need help to better understand the shape of data:

Summary statistics	Outliers	Coverage
What shape is it?	Are there any extreme values?	Does it include everything you need?
What are the upper and lower limits?	Are they valid, or are they errors? How will you check?	Is it at the right level of detail for what you need to do?