Methods and Approaches to Community Needs

 and Resource Assessments

Community Needs Assessment Tools (Slide Show)

The Seven Steps to Building a Successful Prevention Program (Word Doc)

This document is a compilation of a series of presentations by the Western Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies.  Although the original context was aimed at drug and alcohol prevention, the principles outlined are equally appropriate if aimed at the possible causes and hazards of poverty. The seven steps detailed are:  Community Readiness → Needs Assessment → Prioritizing → Resource Assessment → Targeting Efforts → Best Practices → Evaluation.

Community Needs Assessment Handbook (PDF)

Handbook was provided by Health Canada and provides details about developing and carrying out a community needs assessment for home and community care. The Handbook is intended for community/tribal council/regional Inuit association planners and regional First Nations and Inuit organizations. Although it is aimed at a Canadian audience, the principles outlined apply equally well to US community organizations.

Community Needs Assessment Survey UW of Greater Topeka (Web link)

This is an example of well executed community needs assessment.  There are many articles, manuals, and books providing "how to" guides fro conducting a needs assessment, but very few examples of a finished product.  This link provided here not to tell us about Greater Topeka, but to demonstrate what a finished needs assessment could look like.

Understanding and Calculating Statistical Terms in Your Needs Assessment (Web link)

This is a short article provided by "Families in Pennsylvania" (FIPA), a division of Penn State University which explains certain statistical terms and how to calculate them.

Examining Community Needs Through A Capacity Assessment (Web Link)

This is paper which describes how to conduct a community capacity study and also demonstrates an actual capacity assessment. It appears the Journal of Extension and was produced the extension services of Ohio State University.  Capacity assessment is based upon the capacities, skills, and assets of community members, agencies, and organizations. The capacity assessment conducted in this study identified the emerging issues and concerns in the community rather than focusing exclusively on community deficiencies and gaps.

Types of Poverty Oriented Research - Tool Box  (Web Link)

This paper from the Chronic Poverty Research Center describes a number of methodological approaches, in addition to Needs Assessment, that might be useful in community planning:  Situation Appraisal, Feasibility Study, Base Line Study, Organization Analysis, Policy Analysis, etc. 

Strategic Planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations) (Web Link)

This is an excellent and comprehensive (and free) tutorial on conducting strategic planning.  There are a variety of strategic planning models, including goals-based, issues-based, organic, scenario (some would assert that scenario planning is more a technique than model), etc. Goals-based planning is probably the most common and starts with focus on the organization's mission (and vision and/or values), goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action planning (who will do what and by when). Issues-based strategic planning often starts by examining issues facing the organization, strategies to address those issues, and action plans. Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organization's vision and values and then action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those value.  This tutorial addresses all models and the distinctions from one to another.

Measuring Employment and Income for Low Income Populations (PDF)

The authors discuss the strengths and weaknesses of income and employment data in national surveys, inunemployment insurance (UI) wage records, and in tax returns. The CPS, SIPP, NLS, and PSID surveysprovide valuable information on the behavior of the low-income population. They have broad and fairly accurate measures of income for national samples, and their focus on families as the unit of analysis andtheir ease of access greatly enhance their value. Provided by the Institute for Research on Poverty.