NorthStar of GIS

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

Geographic Information Systems (GIS), geography, and STEM students, educators, professionals, and entrepreneurs of the Black and Black African Diaspora and their allies

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Community meetings/Town halls,

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

We've heard that the term "GIS" is fairly unknown, including by key stakeholders at organizations that actually employ GIS staff. We also heard that people view NorthStar of GIS spaces as havens for belonging where Black people can feel comfortable being themselves. So, we adjusted some of our messaging for clarity and authenticity. We've heard that there is a need to provide resources to help HBCUs develop and maintain GIS programs. Therefore, we are evolving one of our programs to include the capacity to help. We've also heard that our messaging regarding racial equity and racial justice did not resonate with our partners and the communities we served in Africa last year. Therefore, we are leaning more toward collaborating with partners focusing on Africa to adjust messaging as needed.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

The people we serve, Our board, Our community partners,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

We have always sought feedback from the people we serve and community partners to center the perspectives and needs of the traditionally most marginalized.

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive,

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time,