Community needs assessment framework

This project demonstrates how a funder could examine whether attendance figures measure the result a program is intended to produce. It is a hypothetical scenario designed to show the method, not a completed client engagement.

The question

What evidence would materially change a renewal decision, and what alternative explanations should be tested before attendance is treated as evidence of program value?

Method

A proposed design combines administrative attendance records with interviews with participants and front-line staff. It treats disagreement between sources as a finding to investigate under the research approach, rather than forcing the evidence into one explanation.

Handling

Because interview material could cover a small population, any publication would need reduced granularity, explicit consent, and a documented harm review under the proposed research safeguards.

Intended outcome

A decision brief that separates observed attendance from assumptions about why people attend, documents uncertainty, and identifies what additional evidence would be needed. The framework is available for adaptation and testing with a pilot partner through Applied research.