Talk to Loop is a global platform that serves as an independent feedback mechanism for anyone receiving or in need of humanitarian aid. It transforms the way people share their experiences and reports concerns about abuse, misconduct, fraud, and any other sensitive feedback. The platform was created to address the challenges of individuals or communities facing violations, who often fear retaliation or stigma for reporting and who lack the ability to provide feedback due to language and literacy barriers. Loop builds and maintains community trust before, during, and after a crisis, avoids delays in feedback setup, promotes civil engagement for individuals and communities, and creates further value for the organizations that use this mechanism. Talk to Loop adopts a survivor-centered approach, ensuring safety and accessibility for its users. It offers multiple communication channels and utilizes existing technology to enable individuals, regardless of location or connectivity, to contribute independently. By providing accessibility in multiple languages, including dialects, and accommodating those without literacy, Loop ensures inclusivity, bridges the digital gap, and empowers marginalized communities. The platform is operated by each country's teams, which are hosted and supported by a local organization or a network of local actors. This integration within the national ecosystem allows Loop to provide valuable insights and essential information for service improvement. The service is free for locals and civil society. Localized donors can directly support the hub country team or contribute to Talk to Loop's central core operations. In addition to philanthropic donations, international and large-scale organizations using the platform are asked to pay a membership fee. The funds are used to provide Loop as a Global Public Good.
Theory of Change
Offering a platform that amplifies the voices of marginalized communities through increased connectivity and feedback encouragement, helps to reduce the digital gap and enhance standards and accountability in the aid sector.
Activities
The Talk to Loop platform, available continuously, provides both qualitative and quantitative data for decision-making, course correction, and triangulating information. Adaptable to local contexts, it independently gathers ongoing feedback remotely and channels the feedback to the entities in question, fostering transparency. Serving as an engagement, complaints reporting, and safeguarding tool for other organizations, Loop enhances mutual understanding between aid providers and recipients. The platform is managed in each country by a network of relevant actors of locally owned organizations. Each country hub promotes this feedback tool during field visits to foster engagement in the communities. These networks host Loop moderators, local professionals who transcribe, translate, tag feedback, and notify organizations promptly when responses are received. Loop facilitates direct replies, encouraging engagement in any language, on any device, and at one's own pace. Replies, translated and recorded as audio, are publicly posted unless sensitive, ensuring a responsive and inclusive platform. The communication channels offered include SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or directly on the website from any device, which is designed to reduce the amount of data consumed. It also enables those without internet or a smartphone to voice their concerns on a phone line, through a feature called Interactive Voice. Users, including staff and volunteers, can share experiences anonymously, controlling the disclosed data. Loop ensures user anonymity through aggregated data and directs sensitive topics to appropriate focal points.
Results
Since its pilot in Zambia in 2020, the platform has grown and rolled out in Indonesia, the Philippines, Somalia, Ukraine, and Poland. It provides support in 15 languages, including oral languages and dialects. Talk to Loop has enabled people to share their stories and experiences, and to receive responses and support from aid providers and other stakeholders. The data is updated in real-time on their website, as of December 2023, the platform has received 4,608 pieces of feedback across all input channels. Of those, it has processed 1,746 replies which are translated, and forwarded to authors of the original feedback, and it is used by 762 organizations around the world.
