National Service

Training Program
Civic Welfare Training Service

Module 7
Introduction to
Community Assessment
Module Outline:

 Needs and Resources Defined

 Importance of Assessing the Needs and
Resources of the Community
 Key Concepts in Community Assessment
 Understanding and Describing the Community
 Guidelines in Conducting Community
Assessment
 Needs and Resources Defined:

Needs can be defined as the gap between what is and what

should be. A need can be felt by an individual, a group, or

an entire community. It can be as concrete as the need for

food and water or as abstract as improved community

relationship. It is helpful to categorize the gaps based on

these four types of community needs: perceived needs,

expressed needs, absolute needs, and relative needs.

 Needs and Resources Defined:
 Perceived needs: perceived needs are based on what individuals
feel their needs are. The standard may change based on each
individual’s point of view. It’s important not to dismiss
perceived needs as merely opinion. Taking into account the
feelings and concerns of community members should be an
essential component of your assessment.
 Expressed needs: defined by the number of individuals who
sought help. Individuals may have felt a need and acted upon
it. Be mindful of the false assumption that all people with
needs seek help.
 Absolute needs: needs deemed universal, including those for
survival (i.e. food, water, safety, and clothing).
 Relative needs: needs rendered necessary based on equity. The
standard may vary based on population differences.
 Needs and Resources Defined:
 Resources, or assets, can include individuals,
organizations and institutions, buildings, landscapes,
equipment -- anything that can be used to improve the
quality of life.
 Community Resources are resources in an area that
accommodate satisfy some requirements for those
around them. These resources may include people, sites
or buildings, and population assistance. Public schools,
parks, community centers are some of the examples of
community resources.
 Community Assessment

 Community assessment is the process of

identifying the strengths, assets, needs and
challenges of a specified community. Assets refer
to the skills, talents and abilities of individuals
as well as the resources that local institutions
contribute to the community. Local institutions
may include political, religious, educational,
recreational and youth organizations;
community, civic and service groups; local
businesses; nonprofit organizations and
volunteer groups.
 Community Assessment

 A community assessment identifies the strengths

and resources available in the community to
meet the needs of community members. The
assessment focuses on the capabilities of the
community, including its citizens, agencies, and
organizations. It provides a framework for
developing and identifying services and solutions
and building communities that support and
nurture children and families.
Community Assessment

 Community Needs Assessments seek to

gather accurate information
representative of the needs of a
community. Assessments are performed
prior to taking action and are used to
determine current situations and
identify issues for action. Needs
assessments establish the essential
foundation for vital planning.
Community Assessment

 A community needs assessment provides

community leaders with a snapshot of
local policy, systems, and environmental
change strategies currently in place and
helps to identify areas for improvement.
With this data, communities can map
out a course for improvement by
creating strategies to make positive and
sustainable changes in their
communities.
 Importance of
Community Assessment
Importance of Community Assessment

 It will help you gain a deeper understanding

of the community. Each community has its
own needs and assets, as well as its own
culture and social structure -- a unique web
of relationships, history, strengths, and
conflicts that defines it. A community
assessment helps to uncover not only needs
and resources, but the underlying culture
and social structure that will help you
understand how to address the community's
needs and utilize its resources.
Importance of Community Assessment

 It will help you make decisions about priorities

for program or system improvement. It would
obviously be foolhardy to try to address
community issues without fully understanding
what they are and how they arose. By the same
token, failing to take advantage of community
resources not only represents taking on a
problem without using all the tools at your
disposal to solve it, but misses an opportunity
to increase the community's capacity for solving
its own problems and creating its own change.
Importance of Community Assessment

 Before the development of a program, it is

necessary to have a firm grasp on the gaps that
exist within a community. Programs that
address community needs work to fill gaps in
resources and services. But why is needs
assessment important to your organization? The
assessment plays a critical role in guiding
decision making and priority-setting for your
program while involving community members in
the process. By following this method, you’ll
build your program around the services that are
most vital for your community members.
 Importance of Community Assessment

 It allows you to involve community

members from the very beginning of the
process. This encourages both trust in the
process and community buy-in and support,
not only of the assessment, but of whatever
actions are taken as a result of it. Full
community participation in planning and
carrying out an assessment also promotes
leadership from within the community and
gives voice to those who may feel they have
none.
 Importance of Community Assessment

 It allows you to involve community

members from the very beginning of the
process. This encourages both trust in the
process and community buy-in and support,
not only of the assessment, but of whatever
actions are taken as a result of it. Full
community participation in planning and
carrying out an assessment also promotes
leadership from within the community and
gives voice to those who may feel they have
none.
 Key Concepts of
Community Assessment
 Key Concepts of Community Assessment

 It may be important to address the community's

priorities first, in order to establish trust and
show respect, even if you don't believe that those
priorities are in fact the most important issues.
Building relationships and credibility may be
more important at the beginning of a long
association than immediately tackling what
seems to be the most pressing need. Among
other things, community members' priorities may
be the right ones: they may see underlying
factors that you don't yet understand.
 Key Concepts of Community Assessment

 Residents are the best experts on

the community in which they live.
All residents have skills, abilities
and talents that they can contribute
to the community. A strong
community is built upon the talents
and resources of its members.
 Key Concepts of Community Assessment

 Assessment of Resources and Needs should be done

regularly throughout your program.
• Prior to planning the initiative. This gives coalition members,
community leaders, and those being served an idea of how to
improve their circumstances.
• During implementation of an initiative. It is important to make
sure that you are on target not only at the beginning and the end
of a project, but also during its implementation. Identifying needs
and assets during the life of the initiative helps you use your own
resources well, and ensures that you're addressing the right issues
in the right way.
• During monitoring and evaluation, either ongoing or after the
completion of a project, it is important to celebrate successes and
to learn from setbacks to further community development.
Understanding and
Describing the
Community
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 It is important to understand community -- what a

community is, and the specific nature of the
communities we work in. Anything we do in a
community requires us to be familiar with its
people, its issues, and its history. Carrying out an
intervention or building a coalition are far more
likely to be successful if they are informed by the
culture of the community and an understanding of
the relationships among individuals and groups
within it. Taking the time and effort to understand
your community well before embarking on a
community effort will pay off in the long term.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Why take time to understand a community

and prepare a community description?
• Gaining a general idea, even before an assessment, of
the community's strengths and the challenges it
faces.
• Capturing unspoken, influential rules and norms. For
example, if people are divided and angry about a
particular issue, your information might show you an
event in the community's history that explains their
strong emotions on that subject.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Why take time to understand a community

and prepare a community description?
• Ensuring the security of your group and participants.
There may be neighborhoods where staff members or
participants should be accompanied by others in order
to be safe, at least at night. Knowing the character of
various areas and the invisible borders that exist
among various groups and neighborhoods can be
extremely important for the physical safety of those
working and living in the community.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Why take time to understand a community

and prepare a community description?
• Having enough familiarity with the community to
allow you to converse intelligently with residents about
community issues, personalities and geography.
Knowing that you've taken the time and effort to get
to know them and their environment can help you to
establish trust with community members. That can
make both a community assessment and any actions
and activities that result from it easier to conduct.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Why take time to understand a

community and prepare a community
description?
• Knowing the context of the community so that you
can tailor interventions and programs to its norms
and culture and increase your chances of success.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Physical aspects. Every community has a physical

presence of some sort, even if only one building.
Most have a geographic area or areas they are either
defined by or attached to. It's important to know the
community's size and the look and feel of its
buildings, its topography (the lay of the land -- the
hills, valleys, rivers, roads, and other features you'd
find on a map), and each of its neighborhoods. Also
important are how various areas of the community
differ from one another, and whether your
impression is one of clean, well-maintained houses
and streets, or one of shabbiness, dirt, and neglect.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Infrastructure. Roads, bridges,

transportation (local public
transportation, airports, train lines),
electricity, land line and mobile
telephone service, broadband
service, and similar "basics" make
up the infrastructure of the
community, without which it
couldn't function.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Patterns of settlement, commerce, and industry.

Communities reveal their character by where and
how they create living and working spaces. Where
there are true slums -- substandard housing in areas
with few or no services that are the only options for
low-income people -- the value the larger community
places on those residents seems clear. Are heavy
industries located next to residential
neighborhoods? If so, who lives in those
neighborhoods? Are some parts of the community
dangerous, either because of high crime and violence
or because of unsafe conditions in the built or
natural environment?
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Demographics. It's vital to understand

who makes up the community. Age,
gender, race and ethnicity, marital status,
education, number of people in household,
first language -- these and other statistics
make up the demographic profile of the
population. When you put them together
(e.g., the education level of single parents
ages 18-24), it gives you a clear picture of
who community residents are.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 History. The long-term history of the

community can tell you about community
traditions, what the community is, or has
been, proud of, and what residents would
prefer not to talk about. Recent history can
afford valuable information about conflicts
and factions within the community, important
issues, past and current relationships among
key people and groups -- many of the factors
that can trip up any effort before it starts if
you don't know about and address them.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 It is important to understand community -- what a

community is, and the specific nature of the
communities we work in. Anything we do in a
community requires us to be familiar with its
people, its issues, and its history. Carrying out an
intervention or building a coalition are far more
likely to be successful if they are informed by the
culture of the community and an understanding of
the relationships among individuals and groups
within it. Taking the time and effort to understand
your community well before embarking on a
community effort will pay off in the long term.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Community leaders, formal and informal.

Some community leaders are elected or
appointed -- mayors, city councilors, directors
of public works. Others are considered leaders
because of their activities or their positions in
the community -- community activists,
corporate CEO's, college presidents, doctors,
clergy. Still others are recognized as leaders
because, they are trusted for their proven
integrity, courage, and/or care for others and
the good of the community.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Community culture, formal and informal. This

covers the spoken and unspoken rules and
traditions by which the community lives. It can
include everything from community events and
slogans -- “Matira matibay sa Barrio Dalisay” --
to norms of behavior -- turning a blind eye to
alcohol abuse or domestic violence -- to
patterns of discrimination and exercise of
power. Understanding the culture and how it
developed can be crucial, especially if that's
what you're attempting to change.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Existing groups. Most communities have an

array of groups and organizations of different
kinds -- service clubs (Lions, Rotary, etc.), faith
groups, youth organizations, sports teams and
clubs, groups formed around shared interests, the
boards of community-wide organizations (the
YMCA, the symphony, United Way), as well as
groups devoted to self-help, advocacy, and
activism. Knowing of the existence and
importance of each of these groups can pave the
way for alliances or for understanding opposition.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Existing institutions. Every community

has institutions that are important to it,
and that have more or less credibility
with residents. Colleges and universities,
libraries, religious institutions, hospitals
-- all of these and many others can
occupy important places in the
community. It's important to know what
they are, who represents them, and what
influence they wield.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Economics. Who are the major employers

in the community? What, if any, business
or industry is the community's base?
Who, if anyone, exercises economic
power? How is wealth distributed? Would
you characterize the community as poor,
working, class, middle class, or affluent?
What are the economic prospects of the
population in general and/or the
population you're concerned with?
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Government/Politics. Understanding the

structure of community government is obviously
important. Some communities may have strong
mayors and weak city councils, others the
opposite. Still other communities may have no
mayor at all, but only a town manager, or may
have a different form of government entirely.
Whatever the government structure, where does
political power lie? Understanding where the real
power is can be the difference between a
successful effort and a vain one.
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Social structure. Many aspects of social

structure are integrated into other areas --
relationships, politics, economics -- but there
are also the questions of how people in the
community relate to one another on a daily
basis, how problems are (or aren't) resolved,
who socializes or does business with whom,
etc. This area also includes perceptions and
symbols of status and respect, and whether
status carries entitlement or responsibility
(or both).
 Understanding and Describing the Community

 Attitudes and values. Again, much of this area

may be covered by investigation into others,
particularly culture. What does the community
care about, and what does it ignore? What are
residents' assumptions about the proper way to
behave, to dress, to do business, to treat
others? Is there widely accepted discrimination
against one or more groups by the majority or
by those in power? What are the norms for
interaction among those who with different
opinions or different backgrounds?
Understanding and Describing the Community

There are obviously many more aspects

of community that can be explored, such
as health or education. The assumption
here is that as part of an assessment,
you'll aim for a general understanding of
the community, and also assess, with a
narrower focus, the specific aspects
you're interested in.
Guidelines in Conducting
Community Assessment
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Form a planning group that represents all

stakeholders and mirrors the diversity of
the community
• A truly representative planning group is not only
more likely to come up with a plan that produces
an accurate assessment, but is also a signal to
community members that they are part of the
process. They are more apt to trust that process
and support whatever comes out of it.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Form a planning group that represents all

stakeholders and mirrors the diversity of
the community
• A truly representative planning group is not only
more likely to come up with a plan that produces
an accurate assessment, but is also a signal to
community members that they are part of the
process. They are more apt to trust that process
and support whatever comes out of it.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment
 Form a planning group that represents all stakeholders
and mirrors the diversity of the community
• Another important determination at this point is whether the planning
group and those who will actually conduct the assessment -- contact
informants, construct surveys, facilitate public meetings, gather data,
and report on and evaluate the assessment process -- will need training,
and if so, how much and of what kind. Many people that haven't had a
great deal of formal education, belong to groups that are often denied a
voice in community affairs, or belong to a culture other than the
mainstream one don't have the meeting and deliberation skills that
many middle-class citizens take for granted. They might need training
and/or mentoring to learn how to contribute effectively to a planning
group. In addition, many people may need training in data collection
methods, evaluation, and other areas important to the assessment
process.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Design an evaluation process for the

assessment, including the development of
the
• Why is this step here, at the beginning of the planning
process, rather than at the end? The answer is that
evaluation should start at the beginning of an effort,
so that you can monitor everything you do and be able
to learn from and adjust any part of the process --
including planning -- to improve your work. That's the
purpose of evaluation: to make your work as effective
as possible.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide why you want to conduct the

assessment
• The reasons for an assessment will affect from
whom and how you gather information, what is
assessed, and what you do with the information
you get. It's obviously important to start planning
with a clear understanding of what you're setting
out to do, so that your plan matches your goals.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Determine what data is already available

• It's important that make sure that whatever data
exists is timely. The chances are that if it's more
than six months to a year old, it's out of date and
no longer accurate. Even census data, which is
extensive and generally reliable, is a snapshot of a
particular time. Since a full census is a once-a-
decade event, census information may be as much
as ten years out of date. There are updates in
between, but only to selected categories, and not
every year.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Figure out what other information you need

• This is the time to finalize the questions you'll ask your
informants, as well as the questions you hope to answer
with the assessment. Those questions will depend on
your purposes. In most cases, you'll want to find out
what is important to members of populations of concern
or those who might benefit from or be affected by any
action you might take as a result of the assessment. You
will probably also want to hear the opinions of the
people who serve or work with those people -- doctors,
human service staff and administrators, teachers,
police, social workers, advocates, etc.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Figure out what other information you

need
• Before you start, take careful stock of your
resources -- people, money, skills, time -- to be sure
you can do all you plan to. An assessment can be
conducted with volunteers and lots of (free)
legwork, or it can require statistical and other
expertise, professional consultation, and many paid
hours. Don't plan an assessment that you don't
have the resources to carry out.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide what methods you'll use for

gathering information
• Each community is different, and so you might use
any one or any combination of these and other
methods detailed in this chapter, depending on
what you're looking for and who can help.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment
 Decide what methods you'll use for gathering information
• Using existing data. This is the research you might do to unearth the
information in census and other public records, or to find information
that's been gathered by others.
• Listening sessions and public forums. Listening sessions are forums you
can use to learn about the community's perspectives on local issues and
options. They are generally fairly small, with specific questions asked of
participants. They can help you get a sense of what community members
know and feel about the issue, as well as resources, barriers, and possible
solutions. Public forums tend to be both larger in number of participants
and broader in scope than listening sessions. They are gatherings where
citizens discuss important issues at a well-publicized location and time.
They give people of diverse backgrounds a chance to express their views,
and are also a first step toward understanding the community's needs
and resources. A good public forum informs the group of where the
community is and where the members would like to go.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment
 Decide what methods you'll use for gathering
information
• Interviews and focus groups. These are less formal than fora, and
are conducted with either individuals or small groups (usually
fewer than ten, and often as few as two or three.) They generally
include specific questions, but allow room for moving in different
directions, depending on what the interviewees want to discuss.
Open-ended questions (those which demand something more than
a yes or no or other simple answer), follow-ups to interesting
points, and a relaxed atmosphere that encourages people to open
up are all part of most assessment interviews. A focus group is a
specialized group interview in which group members are not told
exactly what the interviewer wants to know, so that they will be
more likely to give answers that aren't influenced by what they
think is wanted.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide what methods you'll use for

gathering information
• Direct, and sometimes participant, observation.
Direct observation involves seeing for yourself. Do
you want to know how people use the neighborhood
park on weekends? Spend a few weekends there,
watching and talking to people. If you regularly join
a volleyball game or jog through the park with
others, you're a participant observer, becoming part
of the culture you want to learn about.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide what methods you'll use for gathering

information
• Surveys. There are several different kinds of surveys, any
or all of which could be used as part of a community
assessment. Written surveys may be sent to people in the
mail, given out at community events or meetings,
distributed in school, or handed to people on the street.
People may also be surveyed by phone or in person, with
someone else writing down their spoken answers to a list
of questions. Many kinds of surveys often have a low
return rate, and so may not be the best way to get
information, but sometimes they're the only way, or can be
given in situations where most people complete them.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide whom you'll gather information

from
• For the same reason that you've put together a
planning group that represents all the different
sectors of the community concerned or involved
with the assessment, you should try to get
information from as broad a range of people and
groups as possible. The greater the variety of people
that supply your data, the better perspective you'll
have on the real nature, needs, and resources of the
community.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide whom you'll gather information

from
• This brings up an important point. Your plan
should make sure that the assessment includes the
opportunity for all points of view to be aired. You
may not like what some people have to say, but if
you don't know that there are people with differing
opinions, you only have half of the information you
need.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide who will collect data

• Will you use a participatory research process,
whereby community members gather data
themselves or in collaboration with professionals?
Will you hire an individual or a group to gather
information? If you choose neither of these, then
who will do the work of interviewing, surveying, or
carrying out whatever other strategies you've
chosen to find information?
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide who will collect data

• These are important questions, because their answers can
affect the quality and quantity of information you get.
Individuals in the community may be more willing to be
interviewed and/or to give honest and detailed answers to
people they know or can identify with, i.e., other
community members. Participatory researchers may need
training to be able to do a good job. You may need an
experienced researcher to put together a survey that gets at
the issues you're most concerned with. A combination of
several types of data gatherers may work best. It's worth
spending some time on this issue, so that you can assemble
the crew that's right for your community and your plan.
 Guidelines in Conducting Community Assessment

 Decide how you'll reach your informants

 These are important questions, because their answers can
affect the quality and quantity of information you get.
Individuals in the community may be more willing to be
interviewed and/or to give honest and detailed answers to
people they know or can identify with, i.e., other
community members. Participatory researchers may need
training to be able to do a good job. You may need an
experienced researcher to put together a survey that gets at
the issues you're most concerned with. A combination of
several types of data gatherers may work best. It's worth
spending some time on this issue, so that you can assemble
the crew that's right for your community and your plan.