The work of creating healthier communities should ideally be informed by an assessment of community needs, strengths, and possibilities. We help organizations conduct community assessments that inform planning, support funding strategies, and spark meaningful community action. Our structured five-step process ensures a comprehensive, inclusive, and results-oriented approach to understanding community needs and strengths. Each step is designed to guide you from planning through analysis to action.
The first step is to clearly define the community you intend to assess. A well-defined community provides the foundation for a focused and relevant assessment. We can help you:
- Clarify the geographic boundaries or service area.
- Identify population groups or communities of interest.
- Consider community characteristics such as demographics, cultural context, and social structure.
- Engage key stakeholders to validate and refine the community definition.
- Align the community definition with the goals of your organization or initiative.
The second step is to define the scope of the assessment based on the strategic objectives, timelines, and resources. We can help you:
- Identify key focus areas (e.g., health outcomes, social determinants, access to services).
- Determine the types of information needed (qualitative, quantitative, or both).
- Outline desired outcomes of the assessment.
- Define roles, responsibilities, and timelines.
- Align the scope with planning or regulatory requirements (e.g., CHNA, strategic plans).
The third step is to gather qualitative insights from community members and stakeholders to understand lived experiences, perceptions, and priorities. This is essential for understanding the community through the eyes of diverse populations, including the most vulnerable. We can help you:
- Design and implement interviews, focus groups, surveys, or community conversations.
- Engage diverse populations and underrepresented voices.
- Document key themes, concerns, strengths, and ideas.
- Synthesize qualitative insights to identify patterns and emerging priorities.
- Integrate community narratives into the broader assessment.
The fourth step is to analyze quantitative community indicators to identify key trends patterns, differences, and trends across the defined community. Mapping these data dynamics can be especially helpful for understanding neighborhood-level disparities within the community. We can help you:
- Identify and gather relevant data from public and local sources.
- Analyze health status, social factors, service utilization, and other indicators.
- Disaggregate data by population groups to identify disparities.
- Compare local data to benchmarks or peer communities.
- Map geographic patterns in key indicators.
- Integrate data analysis with community insights for a more complete picture of the community.
Community assessments yield the most value when community stakeholders are invited to both inform the assessment and interpret the results. We can help you:
- Develop clear, compelling reports, presentations, and visual summaries.
- Tailor communication formats for different audiences.
- Facilitate stakeholder review and feedback.
- Support dissemination through meetings, briefings, and digital channels.
- Apply findings to inform strategic planning, grant development, and community initiatives.
