Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Ways Of Conducting Community Needs Assessment

By Odessa Edwards


Community needs assessment refers to the practice of setting out to find out the areas of deficiency among a group of people, in consideration with basic needs. These studies have become very common among many groups of people. Various groups conduct the practice with various aims.

This activity can be conducted with various aims. It may be conducted as a research by students aiming at finding out about community needs. It may also be conducted by the leadership of a given region so as to plan for equitable supply and distribution of resources. After an earlier assessment an organization may conduct it for purposes of follow ups.

The areas of concern for the researchers usually are the basic wants considered essential for the survival of human beings. These include foodstuff, decent shelter among others such as education facilities that have with time become as necessary as others such as food.

This practice comes with a lot of advantages. The most common is the provision of the basic needs where deficiencies have been identified. This ensures that people are healthy and also that the mortality rate is lowered as well as reducing susceptibility to diseases, . For those giving the aid, there is usually that feeling of satisfaction of having assisted people in need. The people conducting the studies also gain a lot of experience and knowledge on the challenges facing other people in the society.

Besides the advantages, this activity also has got its own disadvantages. Some people conducting the assessment, especially those doing it as a research for their academics, may intimidate the residents of the place involved. This may arise when they end up discriminating them basing on what they lack, instead of looking for ways of helping them. The people doing the assessment may also at times face hostility from the people of those regions even if their intentions are clean.

After the research is conducted, measures are then put in place to remedy the deficient areas. To do this, funds are needed for effective implementation. If the organizations have funds, then it is much easier, if not, then they have to be sought for from the public.

The activity may also require more people in case the area under study is too large. In these circumstances, people from the public may be contracted at a fee. It also has been very beneficial, especially for those with no jobs.

Community needs assessment has become a very common activity in a number of countries. This is more especially because governments want to ensure that all their citizens reside in conducive surroundings.




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