Assess
Why Assess?
Assessment helps groups understand gaps, needs, and assets related to community engagement. This understanding informs planning and action and helps ensure that engagement initiatives respond to what matters most to communities. Strong assessment grounds engagement efforts in evidence, lived experience, and local context.
Key Questions to Consider
- What issues matter most to you and to people in the community?
- What is the current situation related to these issues?
- What do key indicators suggest about how well the community or organization is doing?
- Who is affected by these issues? How are they affected and to what extent?
- What factors influence these problems or goals?
- What patterns (increases, decreases) can be seen as key indicators of engagement?
- What information will be used to set priority goals?
- What resources and assets can help address priority goals?
Recommended Actions
- Gather information to help choose priority goals for community engagement. This may include:
- Listening to and engaging people most affected to understand the problem and how to address it.
- Reviewing existing data sources that describe relevant indicators.
- Collecting additional quantitative data such as surveys or observations, as needed.
- Gathering qualitative data through interviews, listening sessions, and focus groups
- Clearly document the rationale for selecting priority goals. This may include evidence such as:
- Indicators that show the scope or size of the problem.
- Information on how frequently the problem (or related behavior) occurs (e.g., number of reported/confirmed incidents in the past year)
- Differences in outcomes across groups including those related to race, ethnicity, gender, or other social factors.
- Identify the underlying factors and social determinants that produce marked differences in outcomes for particular groups including:
- Differential exposures and opportunities, such as stress or access to support networks.
- Differential vulnerabilities and capabilities, such as education.
- Differential access and consequences, including access to quality services or experiences of discrimination.
- Describe what relevant resources and assets are available, and how the group can leverage those resources to address priority goals.
- Increase public awareness about the issues that matter to communities.
Resources to Support Assessment Efforts
Explore these resources from the Community Tool Box