Community Needs Assessment

What it is

Community Service Learning (CSL) in the Kenyan CBC links classroom learning to real action in the community. Before starting a project, learners must find out what the community actually needs. This is called a community needs assessment. It prevents wasted effort, such as building something no one wants.

Steps in a needs assessment

1. Define the community: a village, estate, school neighbourhood or market.
2. Collect information: use several methods.
3. Analyse the data: count, group and summarise.
4. List and prioritise problems.
5. Share findings with leaders and residents.

Data collection methods

Ethics: ask permission, keep names private if requested, be respectful and honest.

Types of community needs

• Social: health, education, security
• Economic: jobs, markets, savings groups
• Environmental: waste, soil erosion, water pollution
• Infrastructure: roads, water, electricity

Prioritising problems

Score each problem (1-5) on:

• Urgency: how serious is it now?
• Reach: how many people are affected?
• Feasibility: can learners do it with available time, money and skills?

Worked example 1: Problems: polluted stream (4, 5, 4) and lack of a school library (3, 3, 2).

• Stream = 13; library = 8. Choose the stream clean-up and tree planting.

Worked example 2: If two problems tie, prefer the one that can be finished within the term and uses local resources.

From need to project plan

Use a SMART goal: "By the end of Term 2, 50 learners will plant 200 trees along the stream bank."

A simple plan has:

• Goal and objectives
• Activities and dates
• Resources and budget
• Roles of team members
• Partners (chief, county environment office, NGOs)
• Monitoring and evaluation indicators

Reflection and values

CSL includes reflection: What did we learn? What skills did we use? How did people benefit? It promotes the CBC values of responsibility, love, unity and patriotism.

Try it

• List four methods you could use to assess needs near your school.
• Write five questions for a questionnaire on water access.
• Score three local problems using the prioritisation matrix and choose one.
• Write a SMART goal for a clean-up project.