The Community Needs Assessment Workbook [Paperback]

In planning community and social services, perceptions of need come from many sources-from the local news to political interest groups-but the first step in conducting efficient and effective community interventions is to look beyond perceptions and identify the actual needs based on available evidence. Creating a comprehensive needs assessment is essential for securing funding and designing programs in governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations. This workbook helps community groups, social service organizations, and government agencies collect, analyze, prioritize, and present local data in a way that will ensure that a community's needs are understood and met.

Employing a learn-by-doing approach, the book walks readers through the actual steps of creating a comprehensive needs assessment. The workbook offers thorough background information and provides step-by-step activities to address the entire process beginning with the planning stage, followed by data collection and analysis, and concluding with preparing your report and implementing findings. Whether in a classroom setting or in the workplace, this is the book that practitioners will use throughout their entire careers.

Preface
Step 1: Planning Your Needs Assessment
1 Introduction
2 Laying the Foundation
Step 2: Collecting and Analyzing Data
3 Types of Data
4 Collecting Qualitative Data
5 Collecting Quantitative Data
6 Analyzing Qualitative Data
7 Analyzing Quantitative Data
Step 3: Finalizing and Using Your Needs Assessment
8 Answering Research Questions and Setting Priorities
9 Writing the Technical Report
10 Using a Comprehensive Needs Assessment

Rodney A. Wambeam (PhD, University of Nebraska)is a senior research scientist at the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center and adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wyoming. He has served as health and human services advisor to the governor of Nebraska, on numels(