Community Needs Assessment Toolkit

In contrast to traditionally deficit-based ways of understanding a community, this Community Needs Assessment (CNA) Toolkit is intended to guide community leaders through a process that considers community strengths and assets as essential foundations from which any change should take root. The creation of a CNA will allow community leaders to articulate their community’s needs as well as establish a clear community vision for climate resilience and social equity, identify specific strategies to build capacity towards this vision, and advance potential projects, programs, and partnerships.

The CNA development process is designed to support community leaders in identifying actionable strategies to advance their community’s vision and build longer-term capacity to continue leading transformational change. The guidance and resources included in the CNA Toolkit is supplemented by additional presentations and resources developed through the PACE program.

The CNA Toolkit includes 10 key components, each of which includes a set of guided prompts, tips, resources, and templates to assist community leaders in developing a CNA. The order of CNA components follows the Partners Advancing Climate Equity (PACE) program’s structure, which follows the VAST design process: Vision, Assessment, Strategy, and Timeline. While each component in this toolkit is assigned to a VAST module, the overall CNA development process is intended to be iterative. Additionally, although the CNA development process can be completed independently, collaborating with partners, stakeholders, and community members can result in a more comprehensive CNA and begin to create the foundation necessary for collective action. While each component is assigned to a specific VAST module, the overall CNA development process is intended to be iterative.

Ultimately, the guidance provided in this toolkit aims to help users develop an ecosystemic view of community needs, priorities, visions, assets, and complex relationships and establish an actionable game plan to address community needs and build capacity. The process of developing a CNA can help community leaders achieve the following additional benefits and objectives:

Clearly articulate your community’s vision and priorities for equitable climate resilience;
Map out local and regional opportunities for new partnerships;
Use tools like Cal-Adapt, CalEnviroScreen, and Healthy Places Index to understand neighborhood-level data;
Learn how to analyze community assets, strengths, barriers, and needs to inform action;
Create data-driven community needs assessments and develop action plans; and
Lay the groundwork to support successful grant applications.

In addition to the above-mentioned benefits of developing a CNA, the final product itself is intended to provide value to communities by:

Documenting a clear community vision to position community leaders, their organizations, and their communities for future funding opportunities and new program development;
Compiling community data in a single document as a quick reference for grant applications;
Identifying opportunities to coordinate effectively with partners and community members;
Onboarding new staff, partners, and community leaders; and
Informing local government planning and policy development.

A key aspect of the CNA is to establish a clear community vision – one that is informed by the community in focus. As such, a certain level of readiness is required to develop a robust CNA, including recent and ongoing community engagement. Some community leaders may find that additional preparations are needed to fully develop their CNA. In these instances, the outcome of the CNA process may be to conduct deeper community engagement or capacity building activities and their CNA can be modified to focus on these next steps.

Other community leaders may already have a similar assessment that has been completed or is being developed. This CNA development process is designed to be flexible and, in these instances, community leaders are encouraged to use this opportunity to update existing plans or supplement related efforts. An initial step of the development process will be focused on compiling related plans and documents, including those created by partner organizations serving the same community.

Finally, community leaders are encouraged to introduce new components in their CNAs to unlock additional benefits and uses. This also extends to the recommended process for development. For example, community leaders may elect to involve their ecosystem partners in developing their CNA or consider ways in which their CNA can serve as a living document that is regularly updated.

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CNA Toolkit Outline

Vision Module

Defining the scope of your CNA

Details

Component

Objective

1. Community Profile

Characterizing your community’s demographics, and crafting a compelling story of your community’s experience and aspirations.

2. Racial Equity Evaluation

Identifying racial equity issues in your community and how they could be exacerbated by climate change, and exploring your organization’s commitment to racial equity.

3. Relationship Mapping

Identifying key partners and stakeholders representing and/or serving the community, including both existing partners and new partnerships that could be cultivated.

4. Community Priorities

Understanding existing community priorities for social equity and climate resilience based on past and ongoing community engagement efforts.

Assessment Module

Deepening your understanding of community needs

Details

Component

Objective

5. Asset Mapping

Understanding your community’s social and physical assets and how they can be best leveraged to achieve social equity and climate resilience goals.

6. Climate Equity Analysis

Assessing key climate change risks facing your community and evaluating disproportionate impacts for marginalized populations burdened by historic and ongoing inequities, disparities, and barriers.

7. Power Mapping

Understanding how decisions impacting your community are made, including assessing who holds comfort and control in planning processes and identifying key levers for change.

Strategy & Timeline Module

Identifying actionable solutions to address needs and build capacity

Details

Component

Objective

8. Solutions Menu

Creating a menu of potential solutions that could be implemented to build community and ecosystem capacity, address community needs, and advance your community’s vision.

9. Solution Prioritization

Identifying your top priority solution and conducting an analysis of strengths, opportunities, and potential pitfalls.

10. Solution Game Plan

Creating a clear, actionable game plan for the priority solution to build capacity and catalyze collective action to implement solutions and work towards your community’s vision for social equity and climate resilience.

Examples of CNAs

There are many different types of Community Needs Assessments that serve different purposes. Below are a few CNAs that community leaders could look to as examples.

This report was prepared to detail the steps taken by the project team to complete the needs assessment, summarize key findings, and share lessons learned. The needs assessment was designed to: understand residents’ current transportation habits and needs; understand challenges faced by residents in accessing and utilizing various mobility options for themselves and their family; gauge residents’ current knowledge and interest in learning about and using new shared mobility options located at an on-site mobility hub; understand the demographic profile of the residents; and collect baseline data to measure progress on project goals.

View CNA

The goal of this study was to inform the development of comprehensive and equitable climate adaptation plan efforts. This research project engaged community‐based organizations and resident leaders, in analyzing both the impacts of and vulnerabilities to climate change. Further, it enumerated adaptation strategies that can be implemented at the local level, discussed their advantages and disadvantages, and identified social equity concerns. This paper is meant to serve as a tool for both city planners and community members everywhere, as they work in tandem to develop more equitable and resilient cities for the climate of the future.

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This report was developed to identify community development priorities and opportunities for the Cuyama Valley, reporting those priorities and opportunities out to elected officials and resource holders, and identifying next steps for implementing actions that improve the vitality and economic opportunity of the Cuyama Valley. The lead author, the Blue Sky Center, collected and analyzed available data and engaged community members via surveys, community meetings, and one-on-one outreach to understand priority concerns. The report establishes both current conditions and reports back next steps for furthering economic opportunity, rural resilience, and quality of life for Cuyamans.

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The East New York Neighborhood Plan is a coordinated plan to promote affordable housing, encourage economic development, create pedestrian-friendly streets and invest in community resources to support the long-term growth and sustainability of East New York, Cypress Hills and Ocean Hill. The East New York Neighborhood Plan is a part of Housing New York, the Mayor’s housing plan to build and preserve affordable housing through community development initiatives that foster a more equitable and livable New York City.

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This abbreviated report, that assesses the health issues in the organization’s community and that community’s access to services related to those issues, represents the data collected and analyzed over the five months. This quantitative and qualitative data will serve as a roadmap for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Community Connector Groups to streamline the areas of concentration for the pediatric population that Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital holds as a core business community responsibility.

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The Richmond Equitable Development Initiative (REDI) prepared this report to show how the national economic and housing crisis is impacting communities in Richmond, California and to emphasize the need for solutions that minimize this critical situation, especially for the city’s most vulnerable populations. REDI’s vision for Richmond is a community in which every resident has access to affordable housing, and safe, reliable public transit that connects them to living-wage jobs, quality education, a clean environment, health care and other essential services.

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In January 2014, a group of concerned Wilmington residents created the Wilmington Improvements Network (WIN) to tackle long standing problems through strategic research and community assessment. The group envisioned a grassroots and organic approach to addressing the challenges and opportunities within the beloved “Heart of the Harbor.” The Wilmington Community Needs Assessment is the first step in the process to heal old community wounds and provide self-determination to solve the neighborhood’s challenges. The results of this survey reveal some common concerns and priorities of Wilmington residents that might otherwise go unheard. The responses to this survey present new paths towards social and communal justice.

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The Woodland/Highland Neighborhood Plan represents a “bottom-up” block-level plan developed over the last two-years with a specific goal of creating a healthy and safe neighborhood. The plan was developed by the Elmhurst Neighborhood Planning Initiative, a collaborative effort among residents, community-based organizations, City and County government, schools, parks, churches, and the Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils (NCPC’s). The goal of the initiative was to develop and implement a community-based plan for the lower Elmhurst area, specifically the area of 81st to 92nd Ave between International and G Street.

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