Lesson 6:Community Needs

Assessment
Learning Objectives:
Explain the concept of community
Identify the purpose of a community needs assessment;
and
Outline the process in conducting a community needs
assessment.
 Knowing the Community
Community
– is simply defined as people with common interests living together in the same
place.
- it is an aggregation of families and individuals who have settled in a compact
and contiguous geographical area and share significant elements of common life
and shown in their manners, customs, traditions, and modes of speech.
- Manali (2009) defines community as an organization of people who are able to
undertake projects based on its members experience, resiliency, motivation, and
willingness to learn.
 Community Needs Assessment

Is a process in which the problems, issues, and

concerns of the community are identified by using
several tools.

It reflects the sentiments, needs, aspirations, and

recommendations of the community.

It becomes significant when conducted as the

students get integrated with the people.
In determining the areas for improvement in a community, the following
steps should be taken.

1. Gather information about the community’s attitudes and opinions in order of

importance.

2. Determine how citizens rank local issues, problems and opportunities.

3. Give the citizens voice in determining policies, goals, and priorities.

4. Evaluate current programs and policies.

5. Speculate on what the people are thinking and what they may really want.
 Steps in Conducting a Community Needs
Assessment

1. Establish a working committee to solicit community involvement and develop plan

of action.
2. List important aspects or areas that need to be analyzed.
3. Identify the population to be surveyed.
4. Determine the information needed.
5. Select a random sample of people to survey.
6. Develop and pre-test a questionnaire.
7. Collate the information gathered.
8. Analyze the data.
9. Go back to the community to validate the results or findings.
10. Finalizes the report.
 Data Gathering Methods for Community
Needs Assessment
1. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) by key informants
- the key informants of the community are the people who hold
socially relevant positions such as educators, public officials, clergymen,
business representatives, or volunteers.

2. Community Forum/Assembly
- This involves holding group events which include the entire
community. Such events give visibility to the leaders and raise the
status of the community; however, they require extensive planning and
publicity.
 Data Gathering Methods for Community Needs
Assessment

3. Public Records
- Provide social and demographic data of the community. The data include the
profile of the population such as gender, educational level, among others.

4. Survey
- Surveys and questionnaires involve asking individuals in the community about
their everyday needs. These can be implemented through the following:
a. Mailing questionnaires to randomly selected members of the community
b. Doing telephone surveys
c. Handing out survey during assemblies
d. Posting questionnaires on the internet
 Needs Assessment Survey
The following data are gathered in a needs assessment survey:
1. Historical data

2. Geographical data

3. Political and legal data (e.g., age, size, race, growth patterns, and
population distribution).

4. Economic data (e.g., the nature of the economic base in relation to the
social, cultural, educational, moral, and cultural superstructure).
 Roles of the Community Needs
Assessment
1. Help identify interest groups and citizens who can be a part of working committees.
2. Facilitate a group discussion to determine important issues and priorities.
3. Select the sample to be surveyed and design a system to identify respondents.
4. Provide a pool of questions from which the working committees draw upon in addressing
issues and concerns.
5. Design a way of distributing and collecting survey questionnaires and ecoding and
analyzing the resulting data.
6. Provide summary reports of data.
7. Suggest programs whereby results can be reported and strategies on community
involvement solicited.
8. Work with citizens to come up with well-informed course of action.