Community Assessments: How to assess a community's needs

2015 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

Community Assessments: How to

assess a community’s needs

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Moderator Victor Barnes – Director of Programs & Grants at

Rotary International

Panelists Past RI Director Philip Silvers, District 5500 (USA)

PDG Carolyn Johnson, District 7780 (USA)

PDG Francis “Tusu” Tusubira, District 9211 (Uganda)

Meet the panel

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• Identifying community strengths and challenges

• Involving the community with assessments and projects

• Relationship building, capacity building, and local empowerment

Breakout session objectives

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• Why assess a community?

• Leveraging assets to address community needs

• Asset-based assessments

– Human assets

– Organization assets

– Physical assets

Community Assessments

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Community Assessment Tools, Sustainability,

Monitoring & Evaluation

PRID Phil Silvers

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• Sustainability, a universal requirement of grant funding (foundations, corporations, government, UN)

• Sustainability begins with Needs Assessment, a potential Achilles’ heel of TRF grant applications

• Old model: outside expert looking in on a village

• New Model: Getting to see the world as the beneficiaries see the world

• Rotarian Eugene, successful in 17 years of Matching Grants: “But they don’t know what they don’t know”

Community Assessments – Critical to Sustainability

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• Community meetings

• Surveys

• Interviews

• Focus groups

• Asset Inventory

• Community Mapping

• Community Charrette

Community Assessment Tools

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Fact-Finding Phase • “Blue Sky” personal interviews/focus groups with

beneficiaries • Focus groups/charrettes with community leaders,

government officials, and local professionals • Relevant data from government/NGO sources

Analysis/Decision-Making Phase • Expert analysis of the findings and

recommendations • Review and vetting by beneficiary groups • Feasibility Assessment: A viable project?

Applying Community Assessment Tools

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• Evaluation Team – indigenous research professional, project leader, data collectors, data entry

• Measurable objectives – SMART – Specific

– Measurable

– Achievable

– Relevant

– Time-bound

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

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Engaging Community & Rotarians

Working towards successful, sustainable projects

and lasting relationships

PDG Carolyn Johnson

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Determine needs in our own communities

• Forums to determine opportunities • Develop knowledge, skill, awareness within our clubs • Connect with multiple stakeholders (service

organizations) – What is working well – Underserved within the community

Begin at home

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Community need: Raising aspirations

• Local knowledge

• Consistency, follow-up

• Follow-through, monitoring

Partnering Organizations

early education

women’s employment

technical skills (trades)

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Community need: access to school for every child

• Identify a process: first & future steps

• Minimize barriers

• Develop trust, recognition

Build partnerships with community leaders

hand washing stations

school kitchen

Bathroom facilities (girls)

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Community need: effective instruction

• Build on existing resources

• Involve beneficiaries in the process

• Feedback on progress

Develop existing resources

classroom resources

teacher training

Ongoing support

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Involve beneficiaries

Work with local leaders

Partnerships with NGOs

Qualitative & quantitative data

Develop existing resources

Successful & Sustainable Service

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Community Assessment: Asset Inventory

PDG Francis “Tusu” Tusubira

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Foundation for Sustainable Development

• Needs approach = negative energy

• Assets approach = positive energy

Identify solutions based on a community’s assets

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Utilise a Mix of Community Groups & Settings

• Mixed: women, men, youth, people with disabilities, leaders (formal and informal)

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Use thematic areas to focus discussion

• Livelihoods

• Health

• Water and Sanitation

• Education

• Etc.

Address all facets of poverty; give it time!

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Analyse the information for opportunities

How can we exploit the assets we have identified to improve the quality of life in the community?

Involve the community in the analysis

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Examples of asset exploitation

Skills

Land

Infrastructure

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Audience Questions

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• Additional resources in the House of Friendship and online at www.rotary.org/myrotary

• Breakout session evaluation

Conclusion