Who This Page Is For
This page is for program and NGO managers who have to pick a kind of needs assessment and are not sure which. It compares three: rapid, full community and problem-focused. Your choice depends on what you need the results for, how fast you need them and what time, people and money you have.
The Short Answer
Start with your goal. If you need to know what help people need first, and you need it within days of a disaster, run a rapid assessment. If you are preparing a new multi-year strategic plan, run a full community assessment, which is a bigger job. If you need to understand one issue, break it down and assess the part you care about. Then check that the method fits your resources and your timeframe.
How They Differ
| Rapid | Full community (Level 1) | Problem-focused | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is for | A broad look at basic needs to set assistance priorities, not a detailed survey | Gathering all the information needed to prepare a new multi-year strategic plan | Investigating one part of an issue, for example domestic violence rather than violence in general |
| Timing | As soon as possible; ideally the first one falls within two weeks of a disaster | Planned ahead; it is part of preparing a multi-year plan | As long as the narrowed question needs |
| How long it takes | A 72-hour approach gives a first estimate; the 6-step REACH model takes 72 hours to 1 week | A complex process that needs leadership buy-in, detailed planning and skilled analysis | Depends on the part of the issue you choose |
| Data | Broad basic needs; in-depth sector assessments can follow | Both factual data and opinion-based input | Detailed information on the specific part |
| Subject | The needs that matter most right now | The community's needs, not those of individuals in poverty or of one kind of need | One issue, narrowed |
One difference matters more than the rest: the primary goal of the assessment decides whether you need qualitative data, which gives depth and context, or quantitative data, which gives information you can measure. The reasons for assessing also set your sources, your scope and what you do with the results. Fix the goal first.
Some community-planning guides call the full community assessment "Level 1" and a lighter update "Level 2". If you already have an up-to-date multi-year plan, you may not need a new full assessment: a Level 2 update refreshes the information you gathered in an assessment within the past two years.
A full community assessment should also describe the community itself: its demographics, history, political context, civic participation, key leaders, past concerns, geography and assets.
Whichever kind you choose, you then pick methods. Each has a typical weakness:
| Method | What it gives you | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Focus groups | Opinions from a small, targeted group, and a synergy of ideas; participants are not told exactly what you want to know | Not meant for broad projections; the ideas may not be common in the wider community, and quieter voices may not be heard |
| Community forums | A place for residents to raise concerns and identify solutions; relatively inexpensive and quick to home in on issues | They need skilled facilitators and significant planning, and may fail to attract some groups or may generate conflict |
| Existing (secondary) data | A wealth of data in census data and town records, relatively easy to access and analyze | Age: it may be out of date |
| Asset mapping | A map of human resources, associations, institutions and local businesses that highlights strengths | It can neglect significant issues, and organizations with a stake in being listed can bias it |
| Key informant interviews | In-depth conversations with people who have relevant expertise, on their assumptions and perceptions | Choose interviewees for their relevant expertise |
| Surveys | A way to collect information from many people | Many kinds have a low return rate, which can make them unsuitable unless they are your only option or completion is high |
How to Decide
- Write down the primary goal. It guides the whole process and tells you whether you need qualitative data, quantitative data or both.
- Ask whether you need priorities now. After a disaster the window for coordinated assessment is short, so run the first rapid assessment as soon as possible. If you need a first estimate in a few hours to inform initial budgeting and logistics, use the 72-hour approach. If you can take up to a week, a 6-step REACH model fits.
- Ask whether you are building a new multi-year plan. If yes, you need a full community (Level 1) assessment. If a current plan is already in place, a lighter Level 2 update of the information from your last assessment, if it was within the past two years, may do.
- Ask whether one issue is the real question. If so, narrow it and assess the part that matters.
- Check the age of what you already have. Community data more than six months to a year old is often out of date, because communities change. A census can be up to ten years old, because a full census happens once a decade.
- Check your resources: time, people and funds to collect what you need. A full community assessment is not a simple template or survey.
- Look back at your last assessment. If a self-check turns up three or more gaps, such as not defining the community or not gathering demographic data, your next one could benefit from the fuller approach.
- Choose methods that fit the goal and cover each other's blind spots, using the table above.
Worked Example
An invented example: a small NGO in a flood-hit district has a new program manager who must choose between a rapid and a full community assessment.
The manager starts with the goal: decide where relief goes first. Flooding happened days ago, and the window for coordinated assessment is short, so the manager wants a first estimate within a few hours to inform the initial budget and logistics. That points to the 72-hour approach, which gives a best-estimate snapshot rather than a detailed survey. The manager plans a fuller rapid assessment for the following week, and in-depth sector assessments after that.
A full community assessment would have asked for leadership buy-in, detailed planning and skilled analysis, and it feeds a multi-year plan. The NGO is not writing one yet.
Later, when the NGO starts a multi-year plan, the manager will check the data. Anything older than six months to a year gets replaced, and the new assessment will gather both facts and opinions.
Common Mistakes
Calling a customer survey a community assessment. Surveying customer satisfaction, or asking customers what services they need, only covers a narrow market. Widen the sample beyond your current clients, and include community needs even where you run no program.
Trusting old data. Information more than six months to a year old is often out of date, and census figures can be up to ten years old. Check what has changed and collect new information where it has.
Letting focus groups speak for the community. A focus group gathers opinions from a small, targeted group. The ideas may not be common in the wider community, and quieter voices may stay quiet.
Mapping only assets. Asset mapping highlights strengths, but it can neglect significant community issues. Organizations that want to be listed as key assets can also bias it. Do use existing resources, though; skipping them wastes capacity for change.
Skipping the field test. When you use a survey, test every instrument at least once with a wide range of the people you plan to ask before you use it for real.
Before You Decide
- I have written down the primary goal of the assessment.
- I know whether I need qualitative data, quantitative data or both.
- I have enough time, people and funds for the method I am considering.
- I have checked whether the data I already hold is older than six months to a year.
- I know whether my timeline fits a rapid assessment, which takes 72 hours to 1 week, or a full community assessment.