Community Assessment and Inviting non-members to Help

We do Community Assessment as part of our work on Global Grants. Our Clubs should do that in our Communities.

Community assessment and inviting non-members to join.

Hold a Community Assessment session

Invite all Rotarians, community leadership, NGOs in town, others interested in town

Brainstorm ideas- ideas that Rotary could help with, ideas that others could do

and ideas that Rotary in cooperation with others could handle.
 Ideas to help children, ideas to help the aged, ideas for economic development, ideas to help feed the hungry and heat houses. and ideas for ....

Keep track of the attendance at this session(s)

Pick an idea from the Assessment and carry it out. Invite all at the session to help with this project. Track who attends this service project.

Encourage other groups to handle other projects proposed in the session.

Keep track of who is involved in these projects

Find a project that could be handled in cooperation with another group.

Keep track of who is involved in these projects.

From the list of interested people invite all to service projects and to fellowship events.










From Rotary International on Community Assessments.

Assessing your community’s strengths, weaknesses, needs, and assets is an essential first step in planning an effective project. By taking the time to learn about your community, you can discover the best opportunities for service and maximize your club’s ability to make an impact.

An assessment not only helps you better understand the dynamics of your community but also allows you and your project’s beneficiaries to make informed decisions about service priorities. Even if you’re actively involved in your community, an assessment can reveal additional strengths and opportunities for growth. Perhaps you’ll find a new way to address a known issue, or give residents a chance to point out overlooked challenges.

Before you start an assessment, consider what you want to learn about your community. An effective assessment will reveal things you did not know before.

Assessments are the foundation of every humanitarian project, small or large, because they provide a framework for identifying solutions to a community’s problems. They also build valuable relationships and encourage residents to help make lasting local improvements. Developing trust in communities can take time — months, even years. Conducting an assessment is critical to creating that trust, and to fostering community ownership and sustainability.

Conversations with just one or two people aren’t enough to reveal a community’s needs. Assessments should be systematic, involve a variety of local stakeholders and beneficiaries, and engage them in a meaningful way.

While conducting an assessment, also be sure to manage expectations. Communities should understand the benefits of partnering with Rotary and how that partnership requires their involvement, contribution, and ownership.

Types of assessments You can combine or adapt the following six assessments to best suit your club’s resources and the preferences of community members:

            Community meeting

            Asset inventory

            Survey

            Interview

            Focus group

            Community mapping

As you determine your approach, consider any available data about the community. Has the local, regional, or national government recently published credible findings that could inform your strategy? Have other organizations or institutions researched the community? Do you notice any gaps in official statistical data that need to be addressed through formal preliminary research? To answer these questions, consider partnering with local experts in your club or district.