COMMUNITY IMMERSION

 1.1. Process of Community Immersion

 1.2. Community Needs Assessment
 1.3. Focus Group Discussion
 1.4. Social Mobilization
COMMUNITY IMMERSION
PROCESS
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT
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.
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.
What are Community Needs?

Community needs are typically categorized into five groups:

 Perceived Needs
 Expressed Needs
 Normative Needs
 Absolute Needs
 Relative Needs
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Types of CNA Surveys

 Case Study Surveys (Focus Group Discussion)

 Sampled Surveys
 Census Surveys
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
SOCIAL MOBILIZATION
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.
Approaches to Social Mobilization

 Political mobilization
 Community mobilization
 Government mobilization
 Corporate mobilization
 Beneficiary mobilization
Political Mobilization

 Aims at winning political and policy commitment for a major goal and necessary resource allocations to
realize that goal.
 Primary Method- Lobbying
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.
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
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.
Beneficiary Mobilization

 Aims at informing and motivating the program the establishment of community groups and communities.
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.
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.
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.