Community Assessment

As part of United Way of Mower County’s ongoing commitment to change lives in our community we sponsoring a community assessment of assets and needs.  As demand for health and human service needs continue to increase the community must focus resources on areas of need that will maximize the impact of the community’s investments.

Community Assessment Committee Overview

What is a Community Assessment of Assets and Needs?

• Comprehensive document outlining a community’s assets and needs (areas identified by public as concerns)

Why does Mower County need to do a community assessment of assets and needs?

• Improve community’s understanding of needs
• Provide a standard set of community data
• Coordinate effort to make best use of limited resources
• Foster cooperation and collaboration
• Emphasis on measurable results
• Establish community priorities
• Develop strategies around priorities
• Address critical needs
• Call attention to key social and economic issues reflecting quality of life and capacity for people to care for one another in our community.
• Raise awareness by providing users a compact analysis of local, state and national performance points for future evaluations.

The broad set of local indicators included in the community assessment can be incorporated into several phases of community building efforts including:

• Forming partnerships
• Development of ongoing collaborative data gathering and assessment activities
• Establishment of priorities and measuring of results
• Incorporation of information from the community assessment into the active process of community improvement.

What topics might be included in a community assessment?

• Characteristics of Mower County residents
• Employment and economic development
• Income and finances
• Education
• Housing
• Health
• Public safety, crime and abuse
• Transportation
• Child care
• Environment and pollution
• Community life & volunteering

What will be the components of the assessment?

• Household Survey
• Business Survey
• Organization Survey
• Service Provider Survey
• Community Leader Luncheon
• Key Informant Survey
• Analysis and compilation of existing community data
• Compilation of survey information and secondary research into document

Who will do the work?

• Community Partnership with United Way as the “sponsoring organization”.  Partnership will be made up of the following committees:
  • Steering Committee – 12 to 25 people from whom the assessment will impact, natural leaders, representatives from diverse populations, ANYONE. 
  • Data Collection and Analysis Committee
  • Inventory Committee
  • Communications Committee

What is United Way of Mower County’s Role?

• Bring people together around the community assessment (staff time to lead partnership)
• Work with other cities who have already completed community assessments
• Secure financial support for project

Time Line

• 12-18 months
• Identify needs
• Identify assets
• Collect demographics
• Collect research (surveys, focus groups, etc.)
• Analyze data
• Share results with community!

What do we need?

• Volunteer Support
• Financial Support
• Cooperation in answering surveys and participating in focus groups

This report will made available for community leaders, businesses and organizations to utilize in their future planning and community building efforts.  United Way will work closely with community members to survey residents at a statistically significant level and with local community leaders and agency partners to assure a community assessment that focuses not only on needs in the Mower County community, but its strengths and assets.