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Preparing For a Community Needs Assessment

Preparing For a Community Needs Assessment



Research

Supports & Resources

There are many different ways to do a community needs assessment, so you should think about what will work best for your community and your CALP. Resources are available to guide you through the process.

One option is to use the Community Dialogue Readiness Checklist (shown below) to help you decide if hosting a dialogue is a good fit. You can also download the Culture of Collaboration Information Package and the CoC Starter Kit, which include planning steps, facilitation tips, and follow-up ideas to support a successful event.

Community Dialogue Readiness Checklist

 

 

You can also find other helpful information and resources right here on the Portal, including these in-depth guides for conducting a community needs assessment:

Do Your Research

Collect as much data as you can to create a bird's eye view of what's already in your community as a starting point. Look at previous needs assessments or assessments done by other community organizations and/or service providers. If possible, ask the people involved how they conducted the needs assessments, what format they used, what worked well, and what didn't work so well. Reviewing past assessments helps you to identify where to avoid unnecessary duplication and unnecessary mistakes, as you make decisions about how to conduct your own assessment.

There are many places to find existing data for your community, including government statistics, the town office, etc. Here are a few examples of the types of community data that might be helpful in planning your community needs assessment.

  • Economic strengths
  • Demographics
  • Newcomer needs
  • Education levels
  • Technology needs
  • Community assets and challenges
  • General trends
  • Other relevant information

Suggested Resources

Explore Alberta - Information on a specific community

Alberta Advanced Education Facts & Stats

Alberta Regional Dashboard

Statistics Canada

Local public service websites:

  • Town website
  • Municipal District/County website
  • School district websites
  • Community economic development websites
  • Library
  • CCI
  • Local Media

Tips & Tricks

  • It is important to keep in mind that all the information you are gathering should remain confidential. Keep privacy at the top of mind and make sure that you don't publicly identify individuals.

  • For a complete guide to conducting a community needs assessment, check out the Taber and District Community Adult Learning Association's Learner Support Services pilot project in 2016.