Needs Assessment (Ch. 5, Homan)
“You will work to help the community effectively declare what it needs, so these needs will be considered important enough to be met, and discover and build its resources, so the community can act to strengthen itself (Homan, 2016, p. 149).
“If your intent is to discover issues for action, using and developing the community’s capabilities, then your assessment may lead to valuable information about community issues. A needs assessment measures unmet needs” (Homan, 2016, pg. 151). “In most cases a needs assessment looks at community needs that are not being met or necessary resources or activities that are not being provided in the community.”
From the Conclusion (p. 169)
Need a better awareness of the communities we’ll be mobilizing for action – those that will benefit from that action, and those from which we’ll demand a response.
Get to know the basic characteristics of your community.
Grasp how the community functions to meet its needs.
Identify unmet community needs and understand what improvements may be needed.
Evaluate the resources your community has on hand as well as the ones it could develop.
Use the wealth of information in the library, gather reports from community groups, talk with people.
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Do we develop a questionnaire to determine the communities capital: 6 capitals of sustainable community development: natural, physical, economic, social, human and cultural?
According to Hancock & Minkler, “A needs assessment should be congruent with a strengths perspective, producing both needed change and increased empowerment” (as cited in Homan, 2016, pg. 151).
