Listening, by Design.
How we think about listening.
These principles guide every product, technical, and UX decision we make.
Listening Is a Process. Not an event.
Listening must be ongoing, iterative, and embedded — not a one-time activity. Understanding accumulates over time.
Ask yourself: Are we building relationships over time, or just collecting snapshots?
Feedback Without Follow-Up Is harmful.
Collecting feedback without response erodes trust and causes harm. Frustration grows when feedback disappears.
Ask yourself: Will this lead to action, or just more data collection?
Dignity & Consent Come first.
Participation must be voluntary, informed, and safe. The person is a rights-holder, not a data source.
Ask yourself: Would this feel respectful if I were the participant?
Scarcity of Data Is a feature.
More data ≠ better understanding. Collect only what you can act on.
Ask yourself: If we can't act on it, should we collect it?
Decisions Over Reports. Always.
Insights exist to improve decisions — not to satisfy paperwork. Findings must arrive in time to matter.
Ask yourself: Will this insight change how we work, or just fill a report?
Relational. Not transactional.
Trust is built through repeated, respectful interaction. Relationships over instruments. Consistency over scale.
Ask yourself: Does this feel like a relationship, or an extraction?
Fit Existing Practices. Don't reinvent.
Technology adapts to communities — not the other way around. Use channels people already trust.
Ask yourself: Will this work for the hardest-to-reach participant?
Power Awareness Is non-negotiable.
Feedback systems exist within power asymmetries. Beneficiaries may fear retaliation. Silence can be feedback.
Ask yourself: Are we interpreting absence as consent? We shouldn't.
Accountability Is mutual.
Organizations are accountable to communities — not only to donors. It is a two-way relationship.
Ask yourself: Are we being visibly responsive, or just collecting evidence?
“Deeply exists because every person deserves to be heard — and to see that it mattered.”
Grounded in established practice.
Deeply operationalizes the shared philosophy found across humanitarian, nonprofit, and community-serving frameworks.
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We're working closely with a small number of organizations shaping the product.