What do we mean by regular community assessment, reporting, and accountability?
___You use regular assessment to examine anything from specific areas (education, child health) to the overall conditions and quality of life in the community.
___You compare the results of regular assessments to those of the previous assessments, and/or to the benchmarks or long-term goals from your strategic plan.
Why propose regular community assessment, reporting, and accountability?
You propose regular assessment, reporting and accountability because
___They clarify the state of the issues at hand in the community, making ongoing rational planning possible.
___They show which, if any, current efforts are bearing fruit and should be continued or strengthened.
___They show which, if any, current efforts seem to be having less impact than hoped, and need to be watched carefully, changed, or discontinued.
___They define the areas – of both community assets and needs – that should be concentrated on.
___By defining the areas of concentration, they give direction to the initiative, fleshing out the strategic plan, and allowing for changes of emphasis when necessary.
___By showing progress, and shedding light on what needs to be worked on, they motivate the community, officials, and policymakers to continue the effort.
___They keep the community vision before the public, so efforts toward change remain supported.
___They help with maintenance of the effort over time.
___They can hold the feet of politicians, corporations, agencies, and other policymakers to the fire, pointing out their responsibility for addressing issues when appropriate, and reminding the public to whom to complain – or protest – when issues are not addressed.
Who should propose and/or conduct regular community assessment andreporting, and establish accountability?
You propose and/or conduct regular community assessment and reporting, and establish accountability, through the work of :
___A broad-based coalition.
___Local government.
___A local or state agency.
___A grass roots initiative.
___A community-based organization.
___A watchdog or advocacy organization.
When should you propose regular community assessment, reporting, and accountability?
You propose regular community assessment, reporting, and accountability:
___At the beginning of an initiative.
___When an issue is being ignored by policymakers.
___When a high-profile issue has been addressed for a period of time, but there has been no assessment of progress.
___When an issue escalates to crisis proportions.
___When the public demands action on a long-standing issue.
How do you conduct regular community assessment and reporting to gain accountability?
___Present the process as positive.
___Present the process as part of an ongoing effort.
___Present the process as a way for citizens to have a voice in community change.
___Determine whose accountability you hope to increase.
___Establish the areas the assessment will examine.
___Set a regular assessment and reporting schedule.
___Adopt methods of assessment.
___Keep your methods of assessment consistent from one assessment to the next.
___Adopt methods of reporting.
___Determine how to get the reports out to the public.
___Carry out the process.
___Prepare to continue the process indefinitely.