SMS
1) Define and validate your purpose.
The first step we took to create an SMS program to communicate with families was defining the purpose and goal of the program.
We thought about the desired outcomes and whether SMS would be a possible strategy to achieve those outcomes.
Initially we considered educational outcomes - like providing academic content while schools are closed - or informative – like improving communications with families of your schools.
When we were first planning the launch, we benefited from advice and insight from Research4Development who helped us to map out a causal chain diagram for the outcomes we expected from SMS.
Once we were clear on our desired outcomes, we conducted three small pilots by sending some test SMS messages to a sample of parents and then calling them afterwards to ask about their experience. In conducting some of the pilots we had members of our team send the messages directly from their phones, which didn’t require any special software.
2) Build the infrastructure.
After defining and validating our purpose we had to figure out how to efficiently send hundreds of text messages at a time. That is when we started to evaluate and compare different software platforms.
The technical infrastructure is an important step! The right platform will depend a lot on what is available in the country you are in and what type of functionality matters to you. We learned a lot about the technical side of SMS platforms.
We also thought about the overall plan, including for how many weeks we would send SMS messages.
From there we developed a 20-week plan and started to draft some sample messages to share across our team for feedback internally. We also learned early on that once we started sending out SMS messages from a specific phone number, families would start calling us back on that number.
Initially, we did not have a plan in place for how to manage all those incoming phone calls. We quickly had to organize what our “call center” approach would be in response.
This is our phone hub in action!
3) Learn and improve as you go.
Monitor your progress weekly. This will allow for course correction where and when needed, as well as increase the understanding of the targeted families’ needs and perception of the SMS program.
Feedback supports continued improvement, and should start from these core sources:
A. RAN’s network of teachers and school leaders: We shared our SMS content internally with our teachers and school leaders for review. They provide contextual feedback based on the student population and location of their schools. This feedback is integrated into the content before it is sent out.
B. Calls and replies to our SMS: Families and students can call to our toll-free lines at any time during the day, and a Rising representative will answer to their questions and concerns. They can also reply to the text messages, and it is stored in our server. We regularly check with our representatives and the server’s information to find out what families are asking for, and address some of their feedback and concerns in future text messages.
C. Surveys: Rising conducts regular feedback surveys with families we serve. Randomly selected families are called to ask about their students’ wellbeing, current academic activities (as part of RAN’s programs), and any feedback or questions they want to communicate to us. We then analyze this information and incorporate their feedback where needed into our next round of SMS development.
