center for social creativity
Funding & Organizational Development Training (FODT)
Organizational Development: Needs Assessments
start
Introduction
Click on the buttons below to understand the layout of this training, what will be covered, and a view of all trainings available.
Layout
Content
Trainings
Needs Assessment Content
Priority Development
Overview
Implementation & Outreach
Quantitative Assessment
Qualitative Assessment
Overview
definitions, purpose, pre-work
A needs assessment means collecting information that provides a complete picture of your community's needs and existing resources. US Department of Health & Human Services
Who uses needs assessments?
Any industry may use a needs assessment to further define the needs, desires and perspectives of their stakeholders. In the justice landscape, needs assessments are used in public health, healthcare, and the environmental advocacy space.
Healthcare
Environmental Justice
Public Health
social determinants of health (SDOH)
Health happens everywhere. And, it begins with our environment.
SDOH
Needs Assessments
practical applications
Policy Change
Program Planning
Grant Writing
Measuring Change
+ info
+ info
+ info
+ info
Needs Assessments
the process
Step 1
Step 3
Priority Adoption
Qunatitative Analysis
Step 2
Step 4
Priority Implementation & Health & Community Equity
Qualitative Analysis
Needs Assessment Process
There are many strategies to conduct needs assessments. Our process is based off the IRS guidance and requirements for nonprofits required to conduct needs assessments. The next page covers who should be at these meetings.
Meeting 1: Quantitative Data
Meeting 2: Qualitative Data
Meeting 3: Priority Adoption
+ INFO
+ INFO
+ INFO
community steering committee
Suggested categories of participants
Community Members
Government Agencies
Community-Based Organizations
Business Sector
Academia
community steering committee
Suggested categories of participants
Health Providers
Policy Makers
Special Interest Groups
Infrastructure & Utility Providers
10
Funders & Philanthropy
power-interest analysis
Use the considerations below when formulating your Community Steering Committe. Promoting inclusion is possible when analyzing where participants fall on the power analysis map.
high influence
high interest
low interest
low influence
A note on language and lens: The needs assessment immediately lends a lens of deficits. Yes, your community has real needs. However, through the process, keep an assets based approach. Among the gaps, your stakeholders and communities have a plethora of beauty and talent. Ensure you lean on that as heavily as the deficits.
Overview: Additional Resources
From the epa
Technical assistance needs assessments
Conducting assessments
More strategies for CNAs.
examples
Templated examples.
in grants
How to use for needs sections.
Quantitative Assessment
using data to inform your priorities
Quantitative Assessment
Introduction to the purpose and use of quantitative assessment.
You may adapt your data collection depending on the specific areas of interest in your community.
The first meeting in your needs assessment will be to present quantitative data describing the conditions within your community. These may cover the span of the social determinants of health. All are intertwined, with the environment being an umbrella factor.
Quantitative Data Rationale
How does this help your assessment?
Objective measurement
Needs prioritization
Establish baseline
Inform decisions
Identification of trends
Resource allocation
Data Considerations
using data responsibly
data equity & Stewardship
Interpreting data in an inclusive context requires a thoughtful approach to ensure that insights are meaningful and actionable.
Use inclusive language.
Understand an equity framework.
Be aware of bias.
Disaggregate data.
Seek diverse perspectives.
Contextualize findings.
Communicate responsibly.
Engage stakeholders.
Evaluate impact.
Focus on equity gaps.
National Data Sources
measuring health & environmental measures
BLS
County Health Rankings
CDC Env.
CDC PLACES
HealthData
Dept. Commerce
US Census
Yale Env.
ACS
NCEI
Headwaters
International Data
measuring health & environmental measures
Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development
United Nations Environment Statistics
World Bank Open Data
US Energy Information Administration
State Data
North Dakota
measuring health & environmental measures
Montana
South Dakota
Wyoming
Utah
Colorado
Meeting 1: Agenda & Example
Presenting in a visually engaging will capture the attention of your Community Steering Committee. Click on the picture to be taken to an example. Structuring your agenda is important to meet your objectives. The icon below has an agenda template for you to adapt to your needs.
Quantitative Assessment: Additional Resources
Data tips
Video on how to present data effectively.
data equity
The importance of data equity for inclusion.
data visualization
Do's and Don'ts
Meeting tips
Ideas for a great community meeting.
Qualitative Assessment
using community voice to inform your priorities
Qualitative Assessment
Introduction to the purpose and use of qualitative assessment.
You may adapt your survey questions and outreach depending on the specific areas of interest in your community.
The second meeting in your needs assessment will be to present qualitative data identifying the voices and perspectives within your community. These may cover the span of the social determinants of health. All are intertwined, with the environment being an umbrella factor.
Depth of Understanding
Contextual Factors
Community Engagement
Provides rich, detailed insights into the community's experiences, perspectives, and values, helping to understand the underlying reasons behind issues.
Uncover the social, cultural, and economic contexts that influence community needs, which quantitative data might overlook.
Fosters engagement and empowerment, ensuring their voices are heard and valued in the decision-making process.
Qualitative Assessment: Rationale
Nuanced Needs
Flexibility
Program Design Richness
Adapt as new themes and issues emerge during the assessment process, providing a more dynamic understanding of community needs.
Inform the development of more effective, culturally relevant interventions and services that resonate with community members.
Reveal specific needs and priorities that may not be evident through quantitative measures, allowing for a more tailored approach.
Qualitative Assessment Rationale
Surveying your community with responsibility and intentionality
Community Context
Diverse Perspectives
Clear Objectives
Question Clarity
Question Types
Response Formats
Confidentiality
Accessibility
Distribution
Ethics
Data Analysis
Survey Length
Qualitative Assessment: Demographics
Consideration when asking demographic questions.
Understanding Context
Asking participants for their demographic information can be beneficial to fully understand the nuances of your community's needs. Some of the benefits are detailed here. However, you must also take into consideration some ethics associated with asking demographic information.
Benchmarking
Identifying Dispartities
Engaging Stakeholders
Tailoring Programs
Survey Visualization
represent the data with excellence
Meeting 2: Agenda & Example
Presenting in a visually engaging will capture the attention of your Community Steering Committee. Click on the picture to be taken to an example. Structuring your agenda is important to meet your objectives. The icon below has an agenda template for you to adapt to your needs.
Qualitative Assessment: Additional Resources
online surveys
Tips on conducting online surveys.
revealing the invisible
Using surveys to understand the unknown.
survey questions
How to effectively write survey questions.
multilingual
Creating surveys for multiple languages.
Priority Adoption
priorities, resources, and accountabilities
Priority Adoption
Introduction to the purpose and tactics for priority adoption.
You may adapt this method depending on your own resources, community needs, and organizational lifecycle.
The third meeting in your needs assessment will be to present the priorities that your organization will adopt. You will learn about considerations related to capacity, resource allocation, and community partnerships.
Final priority recommendations are made during the last meeting.
The Hedgehog concept is a tool to help you adopt priorities that will meet your capacity and will be sustainable.
jim collins
From Good to Great, the Hedgehog Concept defines an easy checks and balances for plan implementation that moves good programs into the great.
Story Time
Are we a fox or a hedgehog?
If you can answer yes to all three questions, it is likely that the priority will be sustainable.
Mission
analyzing our hedgehog
Financial
Aptitude
Meeting 3: Agenda & Example
Presenting in a visually engaging will capture the attention of your Community Steering Committee. Click on the picture to be taken to an example. Structuring your agenda is important to meet your objectives. The icon below has an agenda template for you to adapt to your needs.
Priority Adoption: Additional Resources
Strategic priorities
Smart ways to adopt priorities
definition
Priorities in a strategic plan context.
community priorities
Tactics on how to choose your community priorities.
decision criteria
Criteria to help you prioritize your goals.
Implementation & Outreach
work plan & community distribution
Implementation & Outreach
Introduction to the purpose and tactics implementation & reporting.
Sharing your work with your community is an important aspect for reporting progress.
Your meetings are done, and now comes the hard part! To create true change, you will need a strong implementation plan to achieve progress toward your priorities. You may adapt the recommended tactics to meet your organizational capacity and needs.
Implementation Plan
what is it?
An implementation plan is the road map of how you will enact change based on your community's chosen priorities.
elements
You may hear an implementation plan referred to by these other names.
Theory of change
work plan
logic model
Implementation Plan
the elements
+ info
SMARTIE Goals
+ info
Outcomes
+ info
Resources
+ info
Roles & Responsibilities
+ info
Timelines & Milestones
sustainability considerations
Welcome partnerships
Take care of yourself
Incremental versus radical change
Celebrate the wins
Focus on your assets
Implementation Plan Example
Your implementation plan should provide clear steps and goals that have been described in earlier sections. Your goal should be to have anyone be able to understand and implement the tactics if they understand the subject matter. Click on the image to the right to be taken to a simple template you can use and adapt for your needs assessment.
Outreach
spreading the word
Implementation Plan: Additional Resources
For nonprofits
Developing action plans
template
More implementation plan templates
using tecH
Project planning using digital formats
outreach
Tips on developing your outreach activies
Thank you for learning with us!
"One learns from books and example only that certain things can be done. actual learning requires that you do those things." - Frank herbert
Celebrate the Wins: Shifting paradigms is a slow and tedious process. To keep your stamina through the process, remember that there should always be something to celebrate. When accomplishing even a small milestone, also plan to celebrate its progress toward your ultimate goal.
Informed Decision-Making: It supports evidence-based decision-making, ensuring that strategies and interventions are grounded in reliable data rather than assumptions or anecdotal evidence.
SMARTIE Goals
what are they?
SMARTIE is an acronym that will empower you to ensure that each of your priorities is accompanied by clear and actionable goals. Imagine the success you can achieve by limiting yourself to just 3-5 SMARTIE goals per priority! With every SMARTIE goal, you will also create targeted activities designed to propel you toward achieving that goal.
- S = Specific
- M = Measurable
- A = Actionable
- R = Relevant
- T = Time-bound
- I = Inclusive
- E = Equitable
Mission
- How does this action align with our mission statement?
- What, if any, misalignment may there be with the action and mission?
Can you definitively say and rationalize that this action is mission-aligned?
Overview
Content to be covered
This training will provide you with an understanding of a needs assessment, along with practical guidelines on how to conduct one in your community. This section covers:
- Needs assessment overview
- Quantitative assessment
- Qualitative assessment
- Priority development
- Implementation plans
Program Planning
Needs assessments are wisely used to make data-driven decisions by providing evidence to guide planning and resource allocations. They help leaders design programs and services that specifically address identified needs. This often leads to improved outcomes, leading to better health, education, and social outcomes by focusing on the most pressing issues.
Asset Based Lens: Remember to lean upon the gifts, talent, and beauty that already exist in your community. Use these assets to help elevate your approaches to the community's chosen priorities.
In Healthcare
Healthcare facilities facilitate community health needs assessments (CHNA) to understand the health status, needs, and resources of the community. Their assessments inform planning, resource allocation, and the development of programs and services. As of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, all nonprofit hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers are required to conduct CHNAs ever three years.
Meeting 1: Agenda Template
Meeting 2: Agenda Template
Roles & Responsibilities
what are they?
You absolutely need to map out who will "own" each of your SMARTIE goals. If you find yourself developing the plan, it might be tempting to assign every goal to yourself. However, resist this temptation! The success of your plan will soar if you distribute the responsibilities, and this approach will significantly enhance overall engagement.
Assign a dedicated person to each goal. This individual may not be responsible for completing all the tasks, but their crucial role is to oversee and manage the progress of the goal.
Congratulations!
Your assessment and plan are complete! The hard work of implementation includes informing your community about the work to come, including its importance. Use some or all of these strategies to engage and education your community about the work and its progress.
Objective Measurement: Quantitative data provides objective and measurable evidence of the needs, conditions, and resources within a community. This helps in minimizing biases that can arise from subjective assessments.
Policy Change
Needs assessments may be used for a variety of policy change initiatives. They may inform policymakers about community needs to guide legislation and resource allocation. They are used in urban planning to assess community needs related to housing, transportation, and public services to create sustainable urban environments.
implementation plan
Elements
Under each priority, recommended elements include:
- SMARTIE goals
- Outcomes
- Resources
- Roles and responsibilities
- Timelines and milestones
In Public Health
Local public health agencies are required to conduct a community health needs assessment every five years.Public health uses these assessments to understand the health status, needs, and resources of specific communities or populations. The results help to inform public health policies, programs, and strategies to promote health and prevent disease.
Community Steering Committee
You community steering committee will act as an advisory board during the three assessment meetings. Here are some guidelines for creating your ideal committee.
- Positive players: Those that are eager to be part of the solution.
- Size matters: Between 10-20 participants is optimal.
- Diversity: Make sure your participants are representative of your community's demographics. Also, remember thought diversity counts!
- Power differentials: Acknowledge power differentials when facilitating to provide everyone a voice.
- Challenge the status quote: While positive collaboration matters, also encourage different opinions and perspectives.
Trainings Available
We are regularly adding to our curriculum. So, if you don't see one that you need, let your CRES know!
Organizational Development
- Strategic planning & project planning
- Organizational lifecycles
- Organizational structure
- Leadership development
Grants
- Prospecting
- Relationship building
- Grant writing
- Grant submission
- Grants management
- Funding strategies
Policy Influence
- The role of associations
- How to impact policy & building social capital
- Nonprofit policy rules and latitudes
- The social network analysis
- Statute versus legislation
In Environmental Justice
Environmental justice advocates use needs assessments to focus on identifying and analyzing the specific environmental and health needs of marginalized communities. These may include environmental health hazards and health disparities. The assessment is also used to understand the community's perceptions of environmental risks and health needs.
Community Steering Committee
You community steering committee will act as an advisory board during the three assessment meetings. Here are some guidelines for creating your ideal committee.
- Positive players: Those that are eager to be part of the solution.
- Size matters: Between 10-20 participants is optimal.
- Diversity: Make sure your participants are representative of your community's demographics. Also, remember thought diversity counts!
- Power differentials: Acknowledge power differentials when facilitating to provide everyone a voice.
- Challenge the status quote: While positive collaboration matters, also encourage different opinions and perspectives.
Incremental change: Most changemakers are ready to see drastic change in their communities. You have waited long enough! Yet, understand that most large systemic change happens over time, and incrementally. Be wise in where you decide to start. Baby steps matter in the overall big picture of systems change.
Informed Decision-Making: It supports evidence-based decision-making, ensuring that strategies and interventions are grounded in reliable data rather than assumptions or anecdotal evidence.
Resources
what are they
Identifying resources for your SMARTIE goals is crucial for success. Adequate preparation sets you up for successful implementation. Focus on these four essential resources: (1) social capital, connecting you with networks, (2) human capital, the skills of your team, (3) intellectual capital, the tools for innovation, and (4) financial capital, the funding for your initiatives. Don't underestimate their power in reaching your goals!
Self Care: Systems change is extremely hard on changemakers. Compassion fatigue and burnout are real. Continually reflect on what nurturing you need as a leader, and then allow yourself to accept that. Consider your own sustainability, along with that of your programs.
From Good to Great
In his famous essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin divided the world into hedgehogs and foxes, based upon an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” The fox is a cunning creature, able to devise a myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks upon the hedgehog. Day in and day out, the fox circles around the hedgehog’s den, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Fast, sleek, beautiful, fleet of foot, and crafty—the fox looks like the sure winner.
The hedgehog, on the other hand, is a dowdier creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between a porcupine and a small armadillo. He waddles along, going about his simple day, searching for lunch and taking care of his home. The fox waits in cunning silence at the juncture in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own business, wanders right into the path of the fox. “Aha, I’ve got you now!” thinks the fox. He leaps out, bounding across the ground, lightning fast. The little hedgehog, sensing danger, looks up and thinks, “Here we go again. Will he ever learn?” Rolling up into a perfect little ball, the hedgehog becomes a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions.
The fox, bounding toward his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack. Retreating back to the forest, the fox begins to calculate a new line of attack. Each day, some version of this battle between the hedgehog and the fox takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins. Berlin extrapolated from this little parable to divide people into two basic groups: foxes and hedgehogs. Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity. They are “scattered or diffused, moving on many levels,” says Berlin, never integrating their thinking into one overall concept or unifying vision. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything. It doesn’t matter how complex the world, a hedgehog reduces all challenges and dilemmas to simple—indeed almost simplistic—hedgehog ideas. For a hedgehog, anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance. Princeton professor Marvin Bressler pointed out the power of the hedgehog during one of our long conversations: “You want to know what separates those who make the biggest impact from all the others who are just as smart? They’re hedgehogs.”
Mission
Financial
Aptitude
Sustainability Considerations
We are working toward true and lasting systemic change in our communities. Many approaches are wonderful for the immediate, but are ultimately a bandaid. Your implementation plan should be seeking toward change that lives long into the future.
Financial
- How can this action be an economic driver, or at least financially sustainable?
- What types of labor costs will be needed to be successful in this action?
- What types of unexpected costs may occur with implementation?
- What other resources will be needed for this action?
Can you definitively say and rationalize that this action is financially sustainable?
Baseline Establishment: It allows for the establishment of baseline metrics, enabling stakeholders to compare current conditions against future outcomes. This is essential for tracking progress and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.
needs assessments
Meeting 2: Qualitative Data
Between the first and second meetings, you will distribute a community survey. The goals of the second meeting include:
- Recapping the first meeting's priorities.
- Review the qualitative survey data.
- The community stakeholders will amend their original priority list to encompass the perspectives of their community members, at a larger scale.
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
Needs assessments should evaluate all factors that influence a person's wellbeing. SDOH are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age that significantly influence health outcomes. The determinants are interconnected, meaning that marginalization in one area will impact other areas. Health happens everywhere, and the environment in which we work, live, and play will determine our overall health into the future. Use the buttons to see the categories of SDOH.
Outcomes
what are they?
Outcomes are essential for aligning your SMARTIE goals with the ultimate results you aspire to achieve. For every goal you set, it's crucial to clearly identify the intended outcomes of your activities.
Consider this: if your goal is to raise a specific amount of funds, envision how that will translate into creating a beautiful park for your community. This vision can motivate and inspire action.
Moreover, your outcomes will serve as a guiding compass, ensuring you stay on track as you measure your progress and celebrate your achievements.
Meeting 2: Agenda Template
Grant Writing
Needs assessments can help play a crucial role in grant writing by providing evidence and justification necessary to secure funding. It will not only define the community need, but provide qualitative and quantitative rationales demonstrating an urgency. Your assessment can justify your program design, while also helping to establish relevant goals and objectives.
Identification of Trends: Analyzing quantitative data helps identify trends over time, such as changes in disease prevalence, service utilization, or demographic shifts. This information can guide long-term planning and resource allocation.
How to use this training
Method of learning. The training may be facilitated by your CRES and/or as a self-study tool. Navigation. Click on the links in the beginning of each section if you'd like a targeted understanding of a certain subject. Additional resources. At the end of each section, you'll find links to further learnings, if you want to go deeper. For each topic. Each topic contains definitions, practical applications, the pros and cons, and additional resources.
Aptitude
- How will this action impact our culture?
- Why are we the best group in to implement this action?
- Is there anyone else in the market doing something like this? If so, should we be partnering, versus leading? Why or why not?
Can you definitively say and rationalize that we are the appropriate group to implement this action?
needs assessments
Meeting 3: Priority Adoption
Final priority recommendations were made during the last meeting. Between the second and third meetings, your organization will determine which priorities you can adopt for strategic implementation. These priorities and implementation plan will be presented during the third meeting to your community steering committee.
Welcome partnerships: We cannot make sustainable change alone. When developing your implementation plan, invite external partners to help lead and/or contribute to the plan's success. This may mean aligning with their own organizational priorities.
Measuring Change
Using consecutive needs assessments, you can start to measure the change in outcomes of your population. This is strong evidence to show that your interventions are working on the most pressing needs of the community. Longitudinal data provides a mechanism to move from a charity mindset to social justice, where systemic oppressions are addressed.
Timelines & Milestones
What is the hot button right now?
Funders, particularly philanthropies, can be fickle in their interests. They may have a long history of funding projects similar to yours but if they aren't interested in that TODAY then you wont be funded. Check out their previous funding patterns but also be aware of any current or new priority areas. These should be clearly stated on a specific funding opportunity or expressed as a theme on their primary website.
needs assessment process
Meeting 1: Quantitative Data
Each meeting will be given more detail in upcoming training sections. The goals of this meeting, include:
- Presenting quantitative data representations of the community covering the social determinants of health. The data may focus most specifically on your particular industry.
- Community stakeholders will be asked to validate or invalidate the data based on their lived experiences.
- Community stakeholders will be asked to develop a list of preliminary priorities based on the data.
Prioritization of Needs: Quantitative data helps prioritize needs by providing evidence on the severity and urgency of various SDOH issues. This allows decision-makers to focus resources where they are most needed.
Organizational Development: Needs Assessments
Melissa
Created on October 14, 2024
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Transcript
center for social creativity
Funding & Organizational Development Training (FODT)
Organizational Development: Needs Assessments
start
Introduction
Click on the buttons below to understand the layout of this training, what will be covered, and a view of all trainings available.
Layout
Content
Trainings
Needs Assessment Content
Priority Development
Overview
Implementation & Outreach
Quantitative Assessment
Qualitative Assessment
Overview
definitions, purpose, pre-work
A needs assessment means collecting information that provides a complete picture of your community's needs and existing resources. US Department of Health & Human Services
Who uses needs assessments?
Any industry may use a needs assessment to further define the needs, desires and perspectives of their stakeholders. In the justice landscape, needs assessments are used in public health, healthcare, and the environmental advocacy space.
Healthcare
Environmental Justice
Public Health
social determinants of health (SDOH)
Health happens everywhere. And, it begins with our environment.
SDOH
Needs Assessments
practical applications
Policy Change
Program Planning
Grant Writing
Measuring Change
+ info
+ info
+ info
+ info
Needs Assessments
the process
Step 1
Step 3
Priority Adoption
Qunatitative Analysis
Step 2
Step 4
Priority Implementation & Health & Community Equity
Qualitative Analysis
Needs Assessment Process
There are many strategies to conduct needs assessments. Our process is based off the IRS guidance and requirements for nonprofits required to conduct needs assessments. The next page covers who should be at these meetings.
Meeting 1: Quantitative Data
Meeting 2: Qualitative Data
Meeting 3: Priority Adoption
+ INFO
+ INFO
+ INFO
community steering committee
Suggested categories of participants
Community Members
Government Agencies
Community-Based Organizations
Business Sector
Academia
community steering committee
Suggested categories of participants
Health Providers
Policy Makers
Special Interest Groups
Infrastructure & Utility Providers
10
Funders & Philanthropy
power-interest analysis
Use the considerations below when formulating your Community Steering Committe. Promoting inclusion is possible when analyzing where participants fall on the power analysis map.
high influence
high interest
low interest
low influence
A note on language and lens: The needs assessment immediately lends a lens of deficits. Yes, your community has real needs. However, through the process, keep an assets based approach. Among the gaps, your stakeholders and communities have a plethora of beauty and talent. Ensure you lean on that as heavily as the deficits.
Overview: Additional Resources
From the epa
Technical assistance needs assessments
Conducting assessments
More strategies for CNAs.
examples
Templated examples.
in grants
How to use for needs sections.
Quantitative Assessment
using data to inform your priorities
Quantitative Assessment
Introduction to the purpose and use of quantitative assessment.
You may adapt your data collection depending on the specific areas of interest in your community.
The first meeting in your needs assessment will be to present quantitative data describing the conditions within your community. These may cover the span of the social determinants of health. All are intertwined, with the environment being an umbrella factor.
Quantitative Data Rationale
How does this help your assessment?
Objective measurement
Needs prioritization
Establish baseline
Inform decisions
Identification of trends
Resource allocation
Data Considerations
using data responsibly
data equity & Stewardship
Interpreting data in an inclusive context requires a thoughtful approach to ensure that insights are meaningful and actionable.
Use inclusive language.
Understand an equity framework.
Be aware of bias.
Disaggregate data.
Seek diverse perspectives.
Contextualize findings.
Communicate responsibly.
Engage stakeholders.
Evaluate impact.
Focus on equity gaps.
National Data Sources
measuring health & environmental measures
BLS
County Health Rankings
CDC Env.
CDC PLACES
HealthData
Dept. Commerce
US Census
Yale Env.
ACS
NCEI
Headwaters
International Data
measuring health & environmental measures
Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development
United Nations Environment Statistics
World Bank Open Data
US Energy Information Administration
State Data
North Dakota
measuring health & environmental measures
Montana
South Dakota
Wyoming
Utah
Colorado
Meeting 1: Agenda & Example
Presenting in a visually engaging will capture the attention of your Community Steering Committee. Click on the picture to be taken to an example. Structuring your agenda is important to meet your objectives. The icon below has an agenda template for you to adapt to your needs.
Quantitative Assessment: Additional Resources
Data tips
Video on how to present data effectively.
data equity
The importance of data equity for inclusion.
data visualization
Do's and Don'ts
Meeting tips
Ideas for a great community meeting.
Qualitative Assessment
using community voice to inform your priorities
Qualitative Assessment
Introduction to the purpose and use of qualitative assessment.
You may adapt your survey questions and outreach depending on the specific areas of interest in your community.
The second meeting in your needs assessment will be to present qualitative data identifying the voices and perspectives within your community. These may cover the span of the social determinants of health. All are intertwined, with the environment being an umbrella factor.
Depth of Understanding
Contextual Factors
Community Engagement
Provides rich, detailed insights into the community's experiences, perspectives, and values, helping to understand the underlying reasons behind issues.
Uncover the social, cultural, and economic contexts that influence community needs, which quantitative data might overlook.
Fosters engagement and empowerment, ensuring their voices are heard and valued in the decision-making process.
Qualitative Assessment: Rationale
Nuanced Needs
Flexibility
Program Design Richness
Adapt as new themes and issues emerge during the assessment process, providing a more dynamic understanding of community needs.
Inform the development of more effective, culturally relevant interventions and services that resonate with community members.
Reveal specific needs and priorities that may not be evident through quantitative measures, allowing for a more tailored approach.
Qualitative Assessment Rationale
Surveying your community with responsibility and intentionality
Community Context
Diverse Perspectives
Clear Objectives
Question Clarity
Question Types
Response Formats
Confidentiality
Accessibility
Distribution
Ethics
Data Analysis
Survey Length
Qualitative Assessment: Demographics
Consideration when asking demographic questions.
Understanding Context
Asking participants for their demographic information can be beneficial to fully understand the nuances of your community's needs. Some of the benefits are detailed here. However, you must also take into consideration some ethics associated with asking demographic information.
Benchmarking
Identifying Dispartities
Engaging Stakeholders
Tailoring Programs
Survey Visualization
represent the data with excellence
Meeting 2: Agenda & Example
Presenting in a visually engaging will capture the attention of your Community Steering Committee. Click on the picture to be taken to an example. Structuring your agenda is important to meet your objectives. The icon below has an agenda template for you to adapt to your needs.
Qualitative Assessment: Additional Resources
online surveys
Tips on conducting online surveys.
revealing the invisible
Using surveys to understand the unknown.
survey questions
How to effectively write survey questions.
multilingual
Creating surveys for multiple languages.
Priority Adoption
priorities, resources, and accountabilities
Priority Adoption
Introduction to the purpose and tactics for priority adoption.
You may adapt this method depending on your own resources, community needs, and organizational lifecycle.
The third meeting in your needs assessment will be to present the priorities that your organization will adopt. You will learn about considerations related to capacity, resource allocation, and community partnerships.
Final priority recommendations are made during the last meeting.
The Hedgehog concept is a tool to help you adopt priorities that will meet your capacity and will be sustainable.
jim collins
From Good to Great, the Hedgehog Concept defines an easy checks and balances for plan implementation that moves good programs into the great.
Story Time
Are we a fox or a hedgehog?
If you can answer yes to all three questions, it is likely that the priority will be sustainable.
Mission
analyzing our hedgehog
Financial
Aptitude
Meeting 3: Agenda & Example
Presenting in a visually engaging will capture the attention of your Community Steering Committee. Click on the picture to be taken to an example. Structuring your agenda is important to meet your objectives. The icon below has an agenda template for you to adapt to your needs.
Priority Adoption: Additional Resources
Strategic priorities
Smart ways to adopt priorities
definition
Priorities in a strategic plan context.
community priorities
Tactics on how to choose your community priorities.
decision criteria
Criteria to help you prioritize your goals.
Implementation & Outreach
work plan & community distribution
Implementation & Outreach
Introduction to the purpose and tactics implementation & reporting.
Sharing your work with your community is an important aspect for reporting progress.
Your meetings are done, and now comes the hard part! To create true change, you will need a strong implementation plan to achieve progress toward your priorities. You may adapt the recommended tactics to meet your organizational capacity and needs.
Implementation Plan
what is it?
An implementation plan is the road map of how you will enact change based on your community's chosen priorities.
elements
You may hear an implementation plan referred to by these other names.
Theory of change
work plan
logic model
Implementation Plan
the elements
+ info
SMARTIE Goals
+ info
Outcomes
+ info
Resources
+ info
Roles & Responsibilities
+ info
Timelines & Milestones
sustainability considerations
Welcome partnerships
Take care of yourself
Incremental versus radical change
Celebrate the wins
Focus on your assets
Implementation Plan Example
Your implementation plan should provide clear steps and goals that have been described in earlier sections. Your goal should be to have anyone be able to understand and implement the tactics if they understand the subject matter. Click on the image to the right to be taken to a simple template you can use and adapt for your needs assessment.
Outreach
spreading the word
Implementation Plan: Additional Resources
For nonprofits
Developing action plans
template
More implementation plan templates
using tecH
Project planning using digital formats
outreach
Tips on developing your outreach activies
Thank you for learning with us!
"One learns from books and example only that certain things can be done. actual learning requires that you do those things." - Frank herbert
Celebrate the Wins: Shifting paradigms is a slow and tedious process. To keep your stamina through the process, remember that there should always be something to celebrate. When accomplishing even a small milestone, also plan to celebrate its progress toward your ultimate goal.
Informed Decision-Making: It supports evidence-based decision-making, ensuring that strategies and interventions are grounded in reliable data rather than assumptions or anecdotal evidence.
SMARTIE Goals
what are they?
SMARTIE is an acronym that will empower you to ensure that each of your priorities is accompanied by clear and actionable goals. Imagine the success you can achieve by limiting yourself to just 3-5 SMARTIE goals per priority! With every SMARTIE goal, you will also create targeted activities designed to propel you toward achieving that goal.
Mission
Can you definitively say and rationalize that this action is mission-aligned?
Overview
Content to be covered
This training will provide you with an understanding of a needs assessment, along with practical guidelines on how to conduct one in your community. This section covers:
Program Planning
Needs assessments are wisely used to make data-driven decisions by providing evidence to guide planning and resource allocations. They help leaders design programs and services that specifically address identified needs. This often leads to improved outcomes, leading to better health, education, and social outcomes by focusing on the most pressing issues.
Asset Based Lens: Remember to lean upon the gifts, talent, and beauty that already exist in your community. Use these assets to help elevate your approaches to the community's chosen priorities.
In Healthcare
Healthcare facilities facilitate community health needs assessments (CHNA) to understand the health status, needs, and resources of the community. Their assessments inform planning, resource allocation, and the development of programs and services. As of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, all nonprofit hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers are required to conduct CHNAs ever three years.
Meeting 1: Agenda Template
Meeting 2: Agenda Template
Roles & Responsibilities
what are they?
You absolutely need to map out who will "own" each of your SMARTIE goals. If you find yourself developing the plan, it might be tempting to assign every goal to yourself. However, resist this temptation! The success of your plan will soar if you distribute the responsibilities, and this approach will significantly enhance overall engagement. Assign a dedicated person to each goal. This individual may not be responsible for completing all the tasks, but their crucial role is to oversee and manage the progress of the goal.
Congratulations!
Your assessment and plan are complete! The hard work of implementation includes informing your community about the work to come, including its importance. Use some or all of these strategies to engage and education your community about the work and its progress.
Objective Measurement: Quantitative data provides objective and measurable evidence of the needs, conditions, and resources within a community. This helps in minimizing biases that can arise from subjective assessments.
Policy Change
Needs assessments may be used for a variety of policy change initiatives. They may inform policymakers about community needs to guide legislation and resource allocation. They are used in urban planning to assess community needs related to housing, transportation, and public services to create sustainable urban environments.
implementation plan
Elements
Under each priority, recommended elements include:
In Public Health
Local public health agencies are required to conduct a community health needs assessment every five years.Public health uses these assessments to understand the health status, needs, and resources of specific communities or populations. The results help to inform public health policies, programs, and strategies to promote health and prevent disease.
Community Steering Committee
You community steering committee will act as an advisory board during the three assessment meetings. Here are some guidelines for creating your ideal committee.
Trainings Available
We are regularly adding to our curriculum. So, if you don't see one that you need, let your CRES know!
Organizational Development
- Strategic planning & project planning
- Organizational lifecycles
- Organizational structure
- Leadership development
GrantsPolicy Influence
In Environmental Justice
Environmental justice advocates use needs assessments to focus on identifying and analyzing the specific environmental and health needs of marginalized communities. These may include environmental health hazards and health disparities. The assessment is also used to understand the community's perceptions of environmental risks and health needs.
Community Steering Committee
You community steering committee will act as an advisory board during the three assessment meetings. Here are some guidelines for creating your ideal committee.
Incremental change: Most changemakers are ready to see drastic change in their communities. You have waited long enough! Yet, understand that most large systemic change happens over time, and incrementally. Be wise in where you decide to start. Baby steps matter in the overall big picture of systems change.
Informed Decision-Making: It supports evidence-based decision-making, ensuring that strategies and interventions are grounded in reliable data rather than assumptions or anecdotal evidence.
Resources
what are they
Identifying resources for your SMARTIE goals is crucial for success. Adequate preparation sets you up for successful implementation. Focus on these four essential resources: (1) social capital, connecting you with networks, (2) human capital, the skills of your team, (3) intellectual capital, the tools for innovation, and (4) financial capital, the funding for your initiatives. Don't underestimate their power in reaching your goals!
Self Care: Systems change is extremely hard on changemakers. Compassion fatigue and burnout are real. Continually reflect on what nurturing you need as a leader, and then allow yourself to accept that. Consider your own sustainability, along with that of your programs.
From Good to Great
In his famous essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin divided the world into hedgehogs and foxes, based upon an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” The fox is a cunning creature, able to devise a myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks upon the hedgehog. Day in and day out, the fox circles around the hedgehog’s den, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Fast, sleek, beautiful, fleet of foot, and crafty—the fox looks like the sure winner. The hedgehog, on the other hand, is a dowdier creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between a porcupine and a small armadillo. He waddles along, going about his simple day, searching for lunch and taking care of his home. The fox waits in cunning silence at the juncture in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own business, wanders right into the path of the fox. “Aha, I’ve got you now!” thinks the fox. He leaps out, bounding across the ground, lightning fast. The little hedgehog, sensing danger, looks up and thinks, “Here we go again. Will he ever learn?” Rolling up into a perfect little ball, the hedgehog becomes a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions.
The fox, bounding toward his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack. Retreating back to the forest, the fox begins to calculate a new line of attack. Each day, some version of this battle between the hedgehog and the fox takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins. Berlin extrapolated from this little parable to divide people into two basic groups: foxes and hedgehogs. Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity. They are “scattered or diffused, moving on many levels,” says Berlin, never integrating their thinking into one overall concept or unifying vision. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything. It doesn’t matter how complex the world, a hedgehog reduces all challenges and dilemmas to simple—indeed almost simplistic—hedgehog ideas. For a hedgehog, anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance. Princeton professor Marvin Bressler pointed out the power of the hedgehog during one of our long conversations: “You want to know what separates those who make the biggest impact from all the others who are just as smart? They’re hedgehogs.”
Mission
Financial
Aptitude
Sustainability Considerations
We are working toward true and lasting systemic change in our communities. Many approaches are wonderful for the immediate, but are ultimately a bandaid. Your implementation plan should be seeking toward change that lives long into the future.
Financial
Can you definitively say and rationalize that this action is financially sustainable?
Baseline Establishment: It allows for the establishment of baseline metrics, enabling stakeholders to compare current conditions against future outcomes. This is essential for tracking progress and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.
needs assessments
Meeting 2: Qualitative Data
Between the first and second meetings, you will distribute a community survey. The goals of the second meeting include:
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
Needs assessments should evaluate all factors that influence a person's wellbeing. SDOH are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age that significantly influence health outcomes. The determinants are interconnected, meaning that marginalization in one area will impact other areas. Health happens everywhere, and the environment in which we work, live, and play will determine our overall health into the future. Use the buttons to see the categories of SDOH.
Outcomes
what are they?
Outcomes are essential for aligning your SMARTIE goals with the ultimate results you aspire to achieve. For every goal you set, it's crucial to clearly identify the intended outcomes of your activities. Consider this: if your goal is to raise a specific amount of funds, envision how that will translate into creating a beautiful park for your community. This vision can motivate and inspire action. Moreover, your outcomes will serve as a guiding compass, ensuring you stay on track as you measure your progress and celebrate your achievements.
Meeting 2: Agenda Template
Grant Writing
Needs assessments can help play a crucial role in grant writing by providing evidence and justification necessary to secure funding. It will not only define the community need, but provide qualitative and quantitative rationales demonstrating an urgency. Your assessment can justify your program design, while also helping to establish relevant goals and objectives.
Identification of Trends: Analyzing quantitative data helps identify trends over time, such as changes in disease prevalence, service utilization, or demographic shifts. This information can guide long-term planning and resource allocation.
How to use this training
Method of learning. The training may be facilitated by your CRES and/or as a self-study tool. Navigation. Click on the links in the beginning of each section if you'd like a targeted understanding of a certain subject. Additional resources. At the end of each section, you'll find links to further learnings, if you want to go deeper. For each topic. Each topic contains definitions, practical applications, the pros and cons, and additional resources.
Aptitude
Can you definitively say and rationalize that we are the appropriate group to implement this action?
needs assessments
Meeting 3: Priority Adoption
Final priority recommendations were made during the last meeting. Between the second and third meetings, your organization will determine which priorities you can adopt for strategic implementation. These priorities and implementation plan will be presented during the third meeting to your community steering committee.
Welcome partnerships: We cannot make sustainable change alone. When developing your implementation plan, invite external partners to help lead and/or contribute to the plan's success. This may mean aligning with their own organizational priorities.
Measuring Change
Using consecutive needs assessments, you can start to measure the change in outcomes of your population. This is strong evidence to show that your interventions are working on the most pressing needs of the community. Longitudinal data provides a mechanism to move from a charity mindset to social justice, where systemic oppressions are addressed.
Timelines & Milestones
What is the hot button right now?
Funders, particularly philanthropies, can be fickle in their interests. They may have a long history of funding projects similar to yours but if they aren't interested in that TODAY then you wont be funded. Check out their previous funding patterns but also be aware of any current or new priority areas. These should be clearly stated on a specific funding opportunity or expressed as a theme on their primary website.
needs assessment process
Meeting 1: Quantitative Data
Each meeting will be given more detail in upcoming training sections. The goals of this meeting, include:
Prioritization of Needs: Quantitative data helps prioritize needs by providing evidence on the severity and urgency of various SDOH issues. This allows decision-makers to focus resources where they are most needed.