Transparent Communication

• What is our current process for ensuring PWLE have access to the right background information and context to fulfill the roles they hold?
• Where have gaps in understanding, role clarity, or context created challenges in shared work with PWLE?
• What steps can we take to strengthen onboarding, communication, and transparency moving forward?

• Establish role clarity. For anyone to contribute effectively, they must have a clear understanding of their role, responsibilities, and how their contributions fit within the broader goals of the engagement effort.

• Offer clear documentation, orientation materials, and ongoing conversations to ensure that PWLE are fully prepared to serve in their role, and understand both what is expected of them and what they can expect from the organization.

• Provide comprehensive onboarding and orientation through written materials as well as individual and/or group meetings. Common onboarding topics include:
  • History of the organization and the advisory committee
  • Overview of the organization and advisory committee’s structure, including where the advisory committee is situated within the organization
  • Roles and responsibilities of members and the organization
  • Meeting logistics (such as schedules, Zoom links, etc.)
  • Key staff members roles and contact information
  • A list of other advisory committee members
  • Group norms and agreements
  • A glossary of common terms or acronyms that may be used
  • Any relevant background or context about key issues the advisory committee is working on
  • Information about if and how advisory committee members are compensated and/or reimbursed
  • A list of the types of accommodations and support that are readily available and how to access them
  • Training and capacity building opportunities, including opportunities to be paired with a peer mentor
  • Personal interests and goals of the PWLE being onboarded
  • Any questions, concerns, and/or support needs of the PWLE being onboarded

See Recruitment & Onboarding for additional information

• Transparently discuss decision-making power. Effective collaboration requires transparent communication about the different stakeholders involved in shared work and how decisions will be made.
• Clarify limitations by openly discussing factors that shape the work such as available funding, organizational priorities, or regulatory requirements. Transparent communication about context and limitations of the work deepens mutual respect, builds trust and helps PWLE understand the complexity of systems and regulations that are often unseen forces.
• Keep the conversation going. Discussing roles, context and expectations should be an ongoing activity. Regular check-ins and proactive communication from staff ensure that PWLE are well informed, get their questions answered, and remain confident as the work evolves.
  • See: Supporting Participation for additional information.

Stephanie Burdick, a person with lived experience, discusses the importance of transparent communication.

HealthierHere intentionally shares relevant context and parameters with PWLE to ensure discussions foster meaningful and impactful input.

“Honesty and authenticity in our interactions with PWLE are so important. When we bring them a piece of information or a project, we make sure everyone has a really clear understanding before we go into the room of what the parameters are and of how their voice can be incorporated. Is this a contract where there’s very little wiggle room and the parameters are already pre-decided for us? Is there a lot of opportunity for how their voice can be incorporated? Again, that varies project by project, but being really clear from the very beginning about not just how their voice will be used, but the parameters of where their voice can even be incorporated into a project, and just being really honest about where, where that’s not a possibility.

We always provide annotated agendas to outline what are the asks, and we provide questions to guide the conversation. And there’s a lot of thoughtfulness into how we specifically word questions to direct the conversation in ways that can get us meaningful feedback that can be incorporated. We love open discussions, but having discussions that are guided within the parameters make sure that what we hear can really be acted on.”

• How are we clarifying, documenting, and prioritizing specific feedback and recommendations from PWLE to ensure follow-through?
• What processes, systems, and structures are in place to allow us to follow through on feedback and to track outcomes?
• To what extent are we currently reporting back to PWLE about how their feedback  was understood, considered and acted on – or are we explaining clearly when it was not?

• Design engagement with “closing the loop” in mind from the start. Plan how you will reconnect with PWLE contributors.
  • For standing advisory committees or working groups, maintaining contact is straightforward – updates and follow-up can and should occur as part of regular agendas.
  • For short-term or one time engagement activities (e.g., surveys, focus groups, listening sessions,  community town halls) plan ahead for follow-up by:
    • Offering opportunities to opt into updates
    • Creating secure processes (e.g., database, spreadsheet, CRM fields) to store contact information of those who consent
    • Being transparent about how feedback will be used and when participants can expect to hear back
• Share updates and outcomes in meaningful and accessible ways. Use multiple channels to ensure PWLE hear what  decisions were made and how their input influenced action. Examples include:
  • Standing advisory or working group meetings: include regular agenda items for reporting back on how input has influenced action
  • Ad hoc sharing sessions: Schedule dedicated virtual or in-person meetings or town hall style sessions to discuss outcomes and next steps
  • Digital and print updates: use newsletters, websites, and social media posts to share stories of change and highlight the voices of contributors
  • Annual reporting: include a “What We Heard/What We Did” sections in organizational annual reports, evaluation reports, and satisfaction surveys.
  • Partnership-based dissemination: Work with local community-based organizations or networks to help share outcomes and updates
• Demonstrate accountability by sharing what actions have been planned and implemented in response to feedback from PWLE. This can include communicating outcomes with PWLE, staff, the larger community, and other partners in the work. When input from PWLE is out of scope or not actionable, communicate transparently to explain priorities, decision-making processes, and any constraints (e.g., resources, authority). Offer to connect PWLE to other channels of influence such as advocacy organizations or other community groups.
• Share tangible products developed based on input from PWLE, such as updated policies or workflows, educational materials, publications, or new programs.
• Acknowledge and give credit to PWLE who contributed. Recognition reinforces that lived experience is valuable expertise. Ways to give credit include:
  • Acknowledging contributors in reports (with consent), presentations, and communications
  • Including direct quotes or stories in summaries and recommendations
  • Celebrating shared achievements during advisory council meetings and community events

Marya Gingrey, Chief Equity and Engagement Officer at HealthiereHere, discusses her organization’s approach to reporting back outcomes of shared work.

HelthiereHere engages in a process of “ground truthing” to ensure accurate understanding of input and recommendations from PWLE.

“We recognize that we interpret things through our own lens, so we bring the work back and ask ‘does this feel like how you intended it to?’. We call that “ground truthing–” asking ‘is this how you intended it?’ So we’re making sure that we’re implementing the work the way that it was intended by the community. Especially during virtual meetings, we also have a practice of taking notes in real time in front of the community – to build that trust so that they can see how I’m interpreting and summarizing their words into my notes. And we allow that opportunity of not getting defensive when someone says that’s not quite what I meant, right? We have to hold ourselves humbly and not be defensive of our note-taking as well, which can feel like a thing in real time, right in front of everybody. And that, I think that’s also a trust builder.”

Community Care publishes regular “You Spoke, We Listened, We Acted” reports highlighting how the organization has integrated and acted on input from plan members/PWLE.