COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT

`Needs Assessment is a planning process conducted to determine and

address the needs of a group. This administered to improve or to correct what
is the deficient in the area.

Perspectives on Needs Assessment

There are three perspectives on needs assessmet: perceived need,
expressed need and relative need.

1. Perceived needs are based on the people’s thoughts and ideas regarding
their own need individual has their own needs. Each ideas and
standards regarding their personal needs.
2. Expresse needs are defined by how people seek assistance to achieve
their needs and how they translate their feelings and thoughts on their
needs into action. This perspective assumes that all people with needs
will seek help.
3. Relative needs consider the differences among the concerns of members
of the population. Needs, therefore, must be addresses based on fairness
and equity.

COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Community needs assessment includes gathering information,
community engagement, focusing on the goal of community involvement,
identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a community, and emphasizing on
the abilities of the members of the community and partner groups. After
identifying the needs of the community, leaders begin to address these through
improvement of policies and plans for development.

Three Types of Community Needs Assessments

Community Needs Community Needs Community Needs

Assessment I Assessment II Assessment III
Aim: to discover the Aim: to address an Aim: to serve the
weaknesses of the already existing problems community (clinics,
community and plan faced by the community. centers, etc)
solutions.
Important Points Important Points
Define goals for the needs Identify relevant
assessment stakeholders(e.g., social
Determine the specific groups, organizations)
purpose of the needs Learn about the
assessment community and its
Identify how data from the residents
community will be used Research on the materials
Plan the timeline for the regarding problems in the
needs assessment community
Share with the partners
the expectations , goals,
and approaches in
relation to the needs of
the assessment
Identify people who can
take part in the needs
assessment process
Step in Administering Community Needs Assessment
Plan and Collect Data
Code and
summarize the
Organize needs assessment
results
FOLLOWING ARE THE RECOMMENDED GENERAL GUIDELINES IN
IMPLEMENTING COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT:
 Use of Focus Groups
 Select members to be part of the focus group. They should share a
degree of commonality to discuss about the target community’s
needs.
Important Points
Interview people who are
knowledgable about he
community’s culture
Review materials
regarding the needs of the
community
Explore the community
and identify the target
population or problems
that will be addressed
Compare previous and
related literatures about
the needs of the
community
Identify and learn about
the program that would
benefit the members of
the community in relation
to the needs assessment
administered
Share results
with the
community and
facilitate action
plan
  The focus group will gather information on the community and
prepare their guided questions.
 Create a Needs Assesment Survey
 After obtaining the inputs from the survey, the community’s
potential strengths, weakness, opportunity and needs for change
can be determined. This can serve as the basis for preparing the
needs assessment survey that can be created and distributed to
the community members.
 Collect and Analyze Data
 The leaders may summarize the data through computerized
analysis and programs and organize the data for better analysis.
 Conduct Community Public Forums
 The data may now be relayed in public forums. The indentified
strength’s weakness, and concerns of the community are
scheduled and presented on open public discussions.
 Produce Final Report and Plan for Action
 After the final discussions and as ideas are gathered from the
community, a detailed needsassessment report may already be
prepared.

SUMMARY

Needs Assessment is the process of determining the needs of a community and

planning way s to address the concerts that were gathered along process. The three
perspectives of needs assessments are perceive needs, expressed and relative
needs.

Community needs assessment is the gathering of information in a community

leading to action planning for the community’s development. Community needs
assessment is done for three reasons or purposes, i.e., discovering the weaknesses of a
community and planning for solutions, addressing an exixting problem in the
community; and serving the community.

There are recommended guidelines in conducting a needs assessment. First is

to identify the focus groups that can help in the assessment. From the inputs
gathered from the focus groups, a needs assessment survey is prepared. After the
survey is distributed, data are collected and analyzed and presented to public
forums. Lastly, a final report is prepared as reference for the action plans that will be
prepared and implemented.