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Question: Do you have a community assessment tool that has been used and proved by some other projects? I will be working in a community and I need to do a "needs assessment" to know what issue is relevant for them.
Answer: It's good that you are thinking about community assessment. And the short answer to your question is that there are probably (literally) thousands of assessment tools that have been used by other community projects, often quite effectively. But the fact that a particular assessment has worked well for another project does not mean that it is the best one for yours. That is because your own project will have unique qualities- and just as important, it will have a unique group of community members who will be affected by your work. What this suggests is that you should design your assessment with those community members in mind. More specifically, we recommend you let them work with you, and help you, both in designing your particular assessment and ideally in carrying it out as well. If that is done, your assessment is more likely to be sensitive to the real needs of your particular community; and in addition, the community members are more likely to be guided by the results of that assessment, as contrasted with when the results are communicated downward by someone from outside. Two other points to keep in mind: (1) the fact that an issue is "relevant" for community members does not necessarily mean it is the best one to address at the moment; (and (2) in determining the best place to start, the assets of a community ought also to be taken into account, as well as the needs. You can find more information and elaboration of these points, and more specific recommendations, in Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Community Tool Box, which deals with needs assessment, and Chapter 3, Section 8, which deals with community assets. We hope some of these thoughts may be helpful to you. Thank you for writing to us at the Community Tool Box; and all best wishes for success in your important community work.
Question Date: Fri, 03/16/2007