PART 3: SUSTAINING

Regular “Check-ins”

Once you have established channels for communicating with your community, it is important to create opportunities for regular “check-ins”. Check-ins are a way for you to take the pulse on how people feel about the initiative, what you are offering, and whether the needs and wants of the community are truly being met. As opposed to an opportunity for criticism, the goal here is to establish a safe space where people can express what is working well and what might be desirable next.

How to set up your check-Ins

1. Determine the channel of communication you would like to use as your preferred way for conducting the check-in. This could be hosting a monthly open meeting, sending out an email survey, using the suggestion box, or conducting informal coffee chats. Make sure regular check-ins are scheduled into the calendar for consistency.

2. Consider the questions you may want to ask during your check-in, for example, some questions could include:

What is working?
What is not working?
How's it going?
What is next?

3. Once you have collected input from your community, consider hosting an open forum to discuss new ideas, suggestions for improvement and plans ahead.