Conduct a Community Needs Assessment
This toolkit helps institutions understand why they should lead a community needs assessment and what steps they should take to manage one.
While community needs assessments (CNAs) are not a new method to determine what resources a region or population requires, they are an increasingly common activity for higher education institutions to perform. To support partners, EAB has built out a comprehensive suite of resources on CNAs. We recommend starting with this overview guide before turning to the planning tool and case studies.
What is a community needs assessment?
Topic areas and parameters for CNAs can vary widely, ranging from concrete assessments that address things like food insecurity to more abstract efforts that seek to improve community cohesiveness and wellness.
Why should a university conduct a community needs assessment?
Universities should conduct community needs assessments:
- To learn more about the priorities and concerns of community members,
- When the university has greater trust in their community than other actors (e.g., government or non-profits),
- To identify and collaborate with community leaders and organizations focused on a specific issue or population within the region,
- To gain community support for possible solutions, or
- To persuade funders and decision-makers to provide resources, programs, or services.
Often, community needs assessments are conducted by government agencies or non-profits that serve specific community groups but there remains a strong opportunity for colleges and universities to lead a CNA in their communities. While institutions should still partner with government agencies and community organizations throughout the CNA process, they can leverage their unique research capabilities, access to talent, and organizational partnerships to determine gaps in community and institutional services.
When shouldn’t a university lead a community needs assessment?
Community needs assessments are productive in certain circumstances, though there are situations when a college or university should avoid investing resources to conduct a CNA.
Universities should avoid conducting a community needs assessment when:
- The most important needs of the community or group are well-known, agreed-upon, and have not changed,
- A CNA was conducted recently, and needs have not changed,
- The university lacks sufficient trust in the region or with the population,
- The situation requires urgent and immediate action, or
- The community (or a group from the community) would view the process as redundant and wasteful, and it would negatively impact community relations.
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