This briefing note provides humanitarian organizations with an outline of the main resourcing decisions needed when designing, setting up, and implementing a simple client feedback and response mechanism, as well as a more comprehensive approach to client-responsive programming such as that advocated for by the International Rescue Committee.

The IRC has outlined six different stages involved in implementing client-responsive programming, with the first stage being performed just once (usually during the project design phase, but it may also be introduced part-way through a project’s implementation) and the next five, numbered stages, being implemented at key stages of the project cycle.

  1. Integrating the a client-responsive approach to programming into the design of the project

  2. Capturing clients’ perspectives

  3. Communicate clients’ perspectives to decision makers

  4. Analyzing, interpreting and making decisions about how to respond to client’s perspectives

  5. Acting upon decisions and monitoring effects

  6. Explaining decisions and actions to clients and seeking continuous improvement to responsiveness

Available documents & links