4. What is Community?
Community development specialist Arlien Johnson once wrote that the term “community” refers to
a group of people gathered together in any geographic area, large or small, who have common
interests, actual or potentially recognized in the social welfare field.
5. Community
Geographical Community
Geographical community is defined in the purview of group of persons living in the same geographical
location like in a certain village, town, neighborhood, district, area or territory.
Functional Community
An aggregate of people though not necessarily based on living in the same geographical location, that is
bonded by a common end such as fighting for the same cause, having the same interests and goals.
6. Process of Community Immersion
1. Pre-Immersion
2. Entering the Community
3. Community Integration
4. Community Needs Assessment
5. Program Implementation
6. Termination of Project
7. PRE-IMMERSION
Identification of the community where trainees will be immersed
Trainees should prepare physically, mentally, and spiritually for many tasks ahead.
Trainees must have the waivers from the parents and guardians stating that they are informed of
the mandate to undergo the NSTP community immersion.
8. ENTERING THE COMMUNITY
It is necessary to have community mapping of the target area.
This helps you identify the geographic coverage of the project
This also helps point out the resources that may be used in the community
9. COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
Continuous process wherein the trainees come into contact and become involved with the people
of the community.
The trainees should realize that there is an existing concern in the community.
10. Community Needs Assessment
This will be the concrete base for the formulation of programs.
This should reflect the sentiments, needs, aspirations, and recommendations of the people
11. PROGRAM/PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The actual execution of the plans
Includes making the final arrangement with the target clients/community partners, officials
involved, schedule of events, day to day activities and needs of the clients
1. Program must be responsive to the needs of the clients;
2. Contribute to the upliftment of the living conditions of the clients;
3. Objectives must be SMART with tangible results that touch the lives of the clients;
4. Complete documentation must be observed as basis for reporting and for future studies;
5. Projects must be within the capacity and concern of the trainees that will allow them to gain the knowledge,
skills and encourage reflective action; and
6. Develop shared commitment among the trainees.
12. TERMINATION OF THE PROJECT
NSTP trainees are expected to complete the projects in the community in the span of 50-90 hours
Trainees should inform the community of the status and progress of the project and when it will be
terminated
If the trainees decide to pursue the project after the completion of the course, they may do so with
proper coordination the people involved in the project.
14. What is Community Needs Assessment?
A community needs assessment is a way of collecting data and surveying stakeholders to
understand gaps in community services, as well as the strengths and assets available in the
community.
Whether you’re developing a new volunteer program or reviewing an existing project, it’s important
to know what your community actually needs and the resources available to you. That’s where a
community needs assessment comes in; it can be used to inform and improve any community
development initiative.
15. By Definition…
A community needs assessment is a systematic process of identifying the needs or gaps in service
of a neighborhood, town, city, or state, as well as the resources and strengths available to meet
those needs.
16. What are Community Needs?
Community needs are typically categorized into five groups:
Perceived Needs
Expressed Needs
Normative Needs
Absolute Needs
Relative Needs
17. Perceived Needs
Perceived needs are gaps in services based on what individuals feel about their own needs or the
needs of the community Organizations can learn about perceived needs by speaking directly to
community members through avenues such as surveys, focus groups, or town meetings.
18. Expressed Needs
A perceived need becomes an expressed need when a number of individuals take similar action. For
example, a number of community families are seeking affordable local daycare services because the
current services are at capacity. Be mindful of the false assumption that all people with needs
always seek help.
19. Normative Needs
Normative needs are identified based on a set of agreed-upon criteria or standards. Let’s say a
state-wide authority establishes the current standards for public housing; a community may identify
a need for improved local public housing based on these criteria.
20. Absolute Needs
These needs are deemed universal, including those for survival. Examples of absolute needs include
shelter, food, water, safety, and clothing. Many organizations and community leaders look to
prioritize absolute needs over others.
21. Relative Needs
Relative needs are identified based on equity. A relative need exists when two groups or
communities with similar characteristics do not receive similar services. Students from School A who
receive free lunches reported being happier at school. The program determines that School B
should also receive free lunches to improve student engagement and performance.
22. Why Conduct a CNA?
Understand your community more deeply. A community needs assessment will help you learn
about the culture, social structure, gaps, and strengths of your community so that you can better
serve its citizens.
Prioritize programs and resources. The assessment can reveal both a community’s most pressing
needs and leverageable resources so that organizations can direct funding and resources to
increase return on investment.
Get stakeholders on board. Nonprofit organizations must often make the case for their programs to
garner support. A community needs assessment report signals that their services and decisions are
well-informed and necessary.
23. Steps in Conducting a CNA
1. Define Your Community
2. Identify Your Assets
3. Collect Community Data
4. Compile a Community Needs Assessment Report
5. Create an Action Plan
24. Define your Community
Figure out the people and places that make up your community. Define your community by
considering these questions:
Population - What is the demographic makeup of your community? Which community members
are at risk? What assets do our community members offer?
Attitudes and Values - What do the people in your community care about? What beliefs are
important to consider and respect? What are the local attitudes toward certain issues? What biases
may some hold?
Defining your community can help set the scope of your assessment by giving you a sense of who
should be involved.
25. Identify Assets
What are Community Resources?
People. Lawmakers, volunteers, community leaders, activists, and simply anyone can be an asset to
a community and your organization’s efforts.
Organizations and Associations. Other nonprofit organizations, local businesses, governing
institutions, cultural societies, schools, and all the programs that contribute to improving the quality
of life for residents are community assets.
Locations. Any place, building, or landscape can be a resource. Libraries, shelters, health centers,
and public gardens make communities better places to live.
Equipment and Tools. Objects like books, food, safety equipment, transportation, or free internet
access are all tools that can improve people’s lives.
26. Collect Community Data
Interviews, focus groups, and surveys are great data collection tools that will help you understand the
perceived and expressed needs of your community.
Surveys are efficient at collecting lots of information, and they empower participants to get involved in
community development. They can also provide both qualitative data (like observations, ideas, and
feelings) and quantitative data (like statistics).
27. Collect Community Data
COLLECTING QUALITATIVE DATA
Survey questions that produce qualitative data ask open-ended questions, and may look something
like this:
In what ways do you feel your community supports at-risk youth?
What services and programs would you like your local government to provide
What skills, or expertise do you think is needed in your community?
What services and programs do you enjoy? Which services are relevant to you and your family?
Which ones do you feel need improvement? In what ways?
Qualitative data can provide your organization with a deeper understanding of the challenges and
opportunities that exist within your community.
28. Collect Community Data
COLLECTING QUANTITATIVE DATA
Survey questions that produce quantitative data may look something like this:
On a scale from 1-10, how well do you feel your child is supported by public services? 1 = not
supported at all, 10 = my child is given everything they need to succeed.
In the past month, how often have you used your local library’s public services? Very often,
sometimes, not very often, or never.
How many local government services have you used in the past year?
Do you feel your neighborhood has access to enough healthy grocery options? Yes or No?
The drawback of this kind of data is that you may get a more limited understanding of an issue than if
you were to learn about people’s thoughts, stories, and ideas.
29. Types of CNA Surveys
Case Study Surveys (Focus Group Discussion)
Sampled Surveys
Census Surveys
30. Focus Group Discussion
These surveys collect information from a portion of a group of people that represent the voices of a
larger group or community. Case studies are more in-depth and provide qualitative data and stories
to help inform your assessment. They are effective in providing data on perceived needs.
31. Sampled Surveys
These surveys ask a sub-group of people to answer questions that you provide. Sample surveys,
when performed correctly, should reflect similar results if you would have surveyed the entire
group, making sampled surveys more efficient.
32. Census Surveys
To conduct a census survey, you will distribute your questionnaires to every member of the
population you’re hoping to learn about. Census surveys give you the most accurate information
but will require more significant resources to conduct, especially if your population is vast.
Therefore, a census survey is more effective when conducted in smaller groups, such as all parents
at a particular school as opposed to all residents of a city.
33. Create an Action Plan
Community needs assessments can inform any type of community development. So, whether you’re a
volunteer manager or nonprofit development officer, you’ll want to gather your team to create an
action plan that drives your initiative forward.
The outcomes of your assessment and resulting recommendations can usually be organized into three
categories:
Policy or Guidance
Larger System Changes
Social, Economic, or Physical Changes
34. Policy or Guidance
These are laws or policies that work to change behaviors.
Example:
A local nonprofit discovers that 80% of the district’s children under the age of 18 are food insecure. The
nonprofit creates a program that campaigns to lower the household income threshold to receive free
school lunches. As a result of these efforts, the school board enacts new policies and increases its lunch
program budget.
35. Larger System Changes
These are strategies that result in larger systemic changes to social norms, institutions, or standard
practices.
Example:
A survey reveals that 30% of low-income families with school-aged children aren’t aware of their
children's eligibility for free school lunches. So, a local organization campaigns to target awareness and
reaches out to community families, helping them to apply for benefits.
36. Social, Economic, or Physical Changes
These are changes designed to influence people’s behavior.
Example:
Through conversations with local pediatricians, a nonprofit after-school program learns that many of
the community’s school-aged children aren’t getting enough of the nutrients they need to thrive. So,
they implement a fundraising campaign that will provide children who participate in their after-school
programming with healthy snack options.
38. WHAT IS SOCIAL MOBILIZATION?
Social Mobilization is the process of generating and sustaining the active and coordinated
participation of all sectors of various levels to facilitate and accelerate the improvement of the
situation of children, women and other vulnerable groups.
39. Approaches to Social Mobilization
Political mobilization
Community mobilization
Government mobilization
Corporate mobilization
Beneficiary mobilization
40. Political Mobilization
Aims at winning political and policy commitment for a major goal and necessary resource
allocations to realize that goal.
Primary Method- Lobbying
41. Community Mobilization
Aims at informing and gaining the commitment of community leaders as well as local government
agencies, Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO’s), Women groups and Cooperatives.
42. Government Mobilization
Aims at informing and enlisting the cooperation and help of service providers and other
government organizations that can provide direct or indirect support
43. Corporate Mobilization
Aims at securing the support of national and International companies in promoting appropriate
goals either through the contribution of resources or the carrying of appropriate messages as a part
of their advertising or product labeling.
44. Beneficiary Mobilization
Aims at informing and motivating the program the establishment of community groups and
communities.
45. SOCIAL MOBILIZATION?
Social mobilization acts as a catalyst for organizing the members of a community to take group
action by sharing their problems and seeking their own solutions by pooling their own resources,
obtaining external help and participating actively in the decision-making processes that shape their
lives as individuals and as members of households and the local polity.
Social mobilization enhances individual and group capabilities, widening people’s choices and
enlarging the range of things they can do. Social mobilization processes place the values, priorities
and agency of citizens at the grassroots level at the center of development efforts.
46. SOCIAL MOBILIZATION?
Social mobilization strengths participation of rural poor in local decision making , improve their
access to social and productive services and efficiency in the use of locally available financial
resources and enhance opportunities for assets building by the poorest of the poor.
47. How Does Social Mobilization Happen?
Begin with conscious recognition of problem(s)
Generates acceptance of new ideas, attitudes,
Initiate discussion and decision making for
political will
Action
resource commitment
Bring together those effected by the problem and those who have the solution
Use all available and potential communication resources
Sustain awareness, cooperation, commitment and action to achieve a common goal.
