How do you incorporate the community needs assessment into your strategic planning and goal setting process?

It may also be helpful to clarify who the 'key' stakeholders are. One or a group may drive the opinions and actions of all stakeholders. More challenging is the situation where you have conflicting groups that may need to be bought to a consensus.

Use a well established tool such as PARALLEL TRACKING to simply and clearly co-plan both community and agency goals, strategic design, implementation and evaluation in a project context.

In my views needs assesment may be conducted in consultation meetings. All community members should be given a chance to express thier views. Women, seniors and children should be involved. to get children views meeting may be arranged in play like senerio where children feel free to express their needs.

In addition to doing a stakeholder mapping - and asking questions like who’s voices aren’t represented - figure out what tools will best get information you have defined as being needed. For example, a government stakeholder might feel more comfortable in a interview while a group of moms might feel more comfortable in a guided discussion at a playground.

I find it most helpful when doing a community needs assessment NOT to define too narrowly its scope and boundaries. The goals of a CNA are to understand the community, what they perceive their needs to be, and why. Spend less time setting boundaries and more time thinking through 1) how to gain objective and unbiased information and 2) how you can ensure all members of the community are (and feel) heard. This may require you receive too much or irrelevant data, and that's okay. We can sift through information later. Building relationships is more important than making data manageable.

Analyzing data is best done with a team that will bring different perspectives on the data. The team composition is as important as the data in ensuring diverse voices and perspectives.

Have community members also involved in this task (probably at the early analysis level). It will bring out themes, patterns and relations that may lie under the surface, or are not easily concluded or recognized by outsiders; and also help researchers not misconstrue meaning.

Ideally members of the community will be involved in analyzing and prioritizing the data. I often use a tool called the "10-seed technique" to help communities weigh the urgency and importance of various issues they are encountering. I even use this technique to determine which issues the community believes are within their power to change and which are not. This is crucial because we know mindset change often requires a different set of tools than education alone. Additionally, as we rank opportunities for change according to feasibility and impact, I like to consider how quickly we can see results. I have found the sooner communities see results, the more likely they are to adopt successive interventions.

Utilize methodologies such as SWOT analysis, stakeholder analysis, gap analysis, or ranking and scoring to effectively interpret and compare the data collected during your Community Needs Assessment (CNA).

By involving community members in this process, you not only empower them to take ownership of the issues but also foster a deeper understanding of what can realistically be addressed. Considering both impact and feasibility is key, as it helps to align community expectations with actionable goals. Plus, your emphasis on quick wins is spot on; seeing immediate results can build momentum and encourage further participation in subsequent interventions. It might also be helpful to incorporate a feedback loop where community members can share their thoughts on what worked and what didn’t after each intervention.

And make them understandable. No professional management speak.. "Going forward" ??for example.. Means nothing. Simple plain speaking that everyone can get behind.

One thing I've found helpful is defining the health inequalities locally and addressing the community needs e.g provision of blood pressure kits so that people can monitor and take action if the readings are high. Hopefully this helps with holistic health and wellbeing and also alleviates some pressure from our NHS partners. This is a really important aspect of post covid recovery.

Again involving the community at every step including this one is key. Consult with key community members on the goals/objectives.

It's easy to target for SMART goals and objectives. But Try SMATER goals. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound, Evaluate, and Reward.

That’s a fantastic initiative! Providing blood pressure kits empowers community members to take charge of their health, fostering both awareness and proactive management of their conditions. This kind of local intervention not only addresses immediate health needs but also contributes to long-term wellness. By equipping people with the tools to monitor their health, you’re encouraging self-efficacy, which is crucial for sustainable change. This can also help reduce the burden on NHS services, particularly as the healthcare system continues to recover from the demands of the pandemic. Focusing on health inequalities at the local level allows you to tailor solutions that resonate with community members’ unique needs and circumstances.

Continue involving community members throughout the planning process. Regular updates and feedback loops can maintain interest and investment. Make sure stakeholders understand not just the "what" but the "why" behind the proposed changes. Highlight the benefits and the positive outcomes expected from their involvement. Look for influential community members or organizations that can advocate for the changes. Their endorsement can help sway others.

Consult with the community. Do some sort of context analysis and stakeholder mapping to ensure the strategies and approaches you have come up with are feasible in the current context and foreseeable future. Use change management strategies to get key stakeholder buy in while still developing the plans (some community buy in should have been already created through including them in the previous steps). Ensure community members/instructions etc, who are expected to change/adjust due to the action plans are willing, feasible of that change, and see the end result of that change/plan as valuable enough that it is worth the change.

Strategies encompass overarching approaches or methodologies aimed at addressing the community's needs and capitalizing on its opportunities. Conversely, action plans delineate the precise tasks, activities, responsibilities, timelines, and resources allocated to each strategy.

It is very important to continuously monitor data and progress. Also consider changing strategies and approaches if your current efforts are not moving the needle. The plan needs to be a living document.

Target populations, stakeholders, data points... may be the language you put in your white papers and reports but it is important to remember that the "community" is a collective of individuals aka human beings of all races, ages, and perspectives about life. Those same human beings have emotions i.e fears, hopes, pride and dreams that are governed by their lived experiences. I say this to say, just remember the community is NOT an object and how you engage the individuals in said communities matters and matters alot! I have seen communities oppose a project that they may want and need simply because you did not speak with them first. What they are "not saying" is just as important is what is being said and presented.

When we want to effect change it's tempting to focus on problems. This article is about community NEEDS assessments, after all. It's so important to also spend time considering communities' successes. What do they do well? What do they have that they can contribute? Do a community resources assessment prior to developing your strategies for change. There is so much that communities have to offer. It's also important we don't do for others what they are capable of doing for themselves. How will we know without discussing what they excel in and able to do? In addition to being a good / best practice, acknowledging what communities do well helps to ensure our projects don't rob people of their dignity.

Needs/problems (felt & observed) collected through dialogue with the community are translated into planning showing capacity (all types of existing resources), constraints, types of activities responsibilities & time line. Formulate planning with active participation of all stakeholders including community. List of proposed activities set the objectives and the the goal.