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Feedback is the part of idea management that most organizations either skip entirely or get badly wrong. And it is the part that determines whether people submit ideas the next time you run a campaign.
People can handle a no. What they cannot handle is silence. Or a generic thank you for your contribution that tells them nothing about whether their idea was actually considered. Or finding out three months later that the program moved forward with something completely different and nobody told them.
The feedback templates in this guide are designed to be honest, specific, and short. They do not require a lot of time to write, and they pay back every time you run another campaign.
The One Phrase to Strike From Your Template Library
Delete this phrase from every feedback template you ever send: we cannot move forward at this time.
It is meaningless. At this time implies there will be another time, when there probably will not be. It does not tell the person why their idea was declined. It sounds like a form letter, because it is. It makes the person feel like their submission went into a black hole with a polite cover note.
Replace it with the actual reason. Every time.
The Three-Part Feedback Formula
Good feedback, even when it is a no, has three parts:
Part 1: Acknowledge the thinking
Name something specific about the submission that shows you actually read it. Not the idea is interesting, which is generic. Something specific: the part you found most compelling, the problem they identified correctly, the angle that the team had not considered before.
Part 2: Explain the actual reason
One or two sentences, honest and direct. See the templates below for the most common scenarios.
Part 3: Leave the door open (when it is genuine)
If the idea might be relevant in a different context or a future cycle, say so specifically. If it will not be, do not add a hollow invitation to resubmit because it feels polite. That costs trust, not earns it.
Five Ready-to-Send Feedback Templates
Template 1: Moving forward
Hi [Name],
Your idea [describe in 3 to 5 words] has been selected to move forward. We particularly valued [specific element: e.g., the clear problem statement, the implementation path you described, the insight about which customers would benefit most].
Next steps: [name the owner and the immediate next action]. We will update you on progress at [specific milestone or timeframe].
Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
Template 2: Parking for later
Hi [Name],
We reviewed your idea on [topic] and we want to be direct with you: we are not moving forward with it in this cycle.
This is not a rejection of the underlying thinking. [Specific element] reflects a real problem we care about. The reason we are not acting on it now is [actual reason: e.g., we have already committed resources to three other initiatives this quarter that overlap with this area, and adding a fourth would mean none of them get done properly].
We are keeping this in our backlog and plan to revisit it in [timeframe]. If the circumstances change before then, we will reach out.
Template 3: Not a fit right now
Hi [Name],
We reviewed your idea on [topic]. We are not going to move forward with it, and we want to give you a real reason rather than a form letter.
[Specific reason: e.g., This falls outside the scope of what we can change in the current system without a significant infrastructure investment that is not in this year's budget. / This addresses a problem that is on our radar, but our current improvement plan already has a solution in progress that covers the same ground. / We tried a version of this approach in [year] and found that [specific issue]. That does not mean this version would have the same problem, but it means we would need more evidence before investing in it.]
If you have more context that would change the picture, we would genuinely like to hear it.
[Your name]
Template 4: Needs more development
Hi [Name],
We reviewed your submission on [topic]. The problem you are identifying is real and worth solving. What we need before we can move it forward is more clarity on [specific gap: e.g., how it would work in practice / what the cost to implement would be roughly / how it would affect the people in [department] who currently own this process].
Would you be willing to spend 30 minutes developing it further? If you can add that detail, we will put it back in the evaluation in the next review cycle on [date].
[Your name]
Template 5: Duplicate of an existing initiative
Hi [Name],
Your idea on [topic] landed on a problem we are actively working on. You are not wrong about the issue. We already have [brief description of existing initiative] in progress, which addresses the same root cause.
We are going to close your submission as a duplicate rather than evaluate it separately. But if you have a perspective on the approach we are taking that you think we are missing, we would genuinely welcome that as input to the work already underway. Let [name or team] know.
[Your name]
The One Thing You Can Do Publicly
Individual feedback builds individual trust. Public communication builds program trust.
After every campaign cycle, post a brief summary somewhere visible: what we heard, what we are doing, and what we decided not to pursue. Not a long report. Three or four sentences in a shared channel or on your intranet. This signals to everyone, including people who did not submit, that the program produces real outcomes. It is the single most effective thing you can do to increase participation in your next campaign.
