50 Forward

The Community Assessment Tool

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Stacy Sells

A community assessment is an exercise by which a group of community leaders gathers information on the current strengths, concerns, and conditions of the community. The information comes from many sources and is elicited by many techniques, including interviews, focus groups, and demographic data collected by government sources and local agencies. The outcome – the resulting information – is broad, accurate, and can be very useful in order to know where you are, and where you want to go.

In my previous blog, I promised to provide some online tools that can assist community leaders and educators capture an accurate picture of the present circumstances. Here are a few of those tools that I hope you’ll find helpful.

In Arkansas, Governor Mike Beebe’s Arkansas Works initiative encourages all communities to conduct a community assessment and commit to a process of strategic planning. You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you presently are. Here’s the tool being used in many Arkansas communities.

Designed by the National League of Cities, this assessment tool helped city officials and other community leaders gain a better understanding of how young children (ages 0-5) and their families are faring and where assistance is needed.

Developed by the Vermont Department of Health, this guide is particularly helpful as it provides process information to implement audits, focus groups and opinion surveys.

cdtoolbox.net is a joint collaboration between Penn State University and Cornell University’s Community and Rural Development Institute. An extremely thorough economic development toolbox, it is intended to connect people with resources and information necessary to strengthen the capacity of their communities.

Rather than utilizing community assessors from inside the community, this approach – First Impressions – developed by the University of Wisconsin Extension Service, helps communities learn about their existing strengths and weaknesses as seen through the eyes of the first time visitor. This strategy incorporates the “secret shopper” concept, capturing a visitor’s perspective of a community based on a short visit.

This is the bonus package from the University of Kansas – my personal favorite for those who want to diligently pursue a local community assessment. This is one of the most useful packages I’ve ever seen, complete with sample surveys, data collection templates, information on how to conduct focus group interviews, etc.

Get creative and think strategically! These tools are only samples so modify them to meet the specific needs of your community. Below is a list of government resources that can provide you with the most current community data.

• Economic data: Bureau of the Census (301-457-4608), Bureau of Labor Statistics (202-606-7828), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (202-708-1422), and annual reports prepared by cities, counties, and states.
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Public health data and vital statistics: State and local departments of health and human services.
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Education data: U.S. Department of Education (1-800-USA-LEARN), the National Center for Education Statistics (202-219-1828), and state and local education agencies.
• Child welfare and juvenile justice data: U.S. Department of Justice (202-307-0765), local police and human service departments, and state juvenile and criminal justice agencies.
• Information on children and youth: Kids Count data books published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (410-547-6600), the Children’s Defense Fund (202-628-8787), the National Center for Children in Poverty (212-927-8793), and county and local agencies.

About Stacy Sells

A second-generation public relations professional, @stacysells thrives on the business of strategic communications that promote, publicize, develop collaborative efforts, build goodwill and respond to crisis. Public and private sector clients hire Stacy for her ability to develop strategic plans, define effective messages, persuade public opinion and influence the media. Stacy is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America and a member of the prestigious PRSA Counselor's Academy. Stacy’s passion has long been connecting the education and business communities. In her spare time, she is involved with countless community efforts that focus on public education reform and economic development. She currently serves on the board of directors of Accelerate Arkansas, Single Parent Scholarship Fund and KIPP Delta Public Schools, and on the board of trustees of Philander Smith College. Stacy served as co-chairman of the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education (2001-2002), chairman of the board of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce (2003-2004), Education Commission of the States (2004-2006). In 2003, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families honored Stacy as their "Child Advocate of the Year." Stacy is a native Arkansan, a graduate of Hendrix College and was honored by the Hendrix College Alumni Association with the 2007 Humanitarian Award for her community service and dedication to humanity. View all posts by Stacy Sells → This entry was posted in Education and tagged Community Assessment, Education. Bookmark the permalink.