Community Needs Assessment Support – Washington State Community Action Partnership

The National Community Action Partnership’s Community Needs Assessment tool allows you to quickly and easily create customized reports for your community action agency region or service area. Begin by defining your report location, then select the data you want to include in the report. Your completed report can be used to meet tri-annual reporting requirements, support grant applications, and inform the programs and services you offer to your community.

STEP ONE: Define your report location. Click the location tabs at the top to select a location type (e.g., Agency Region, Sub-County Agency, County).

Step 1 of the assessment tool. The picture shows a screenshot of the location selection function. Users can select a geography in the top-level tabs first, then select a more specific geography from the list. This location will be used to create the report.

STEP TWO: Finish defining your location. Click the names of one or more locations from the list on the left (e.g., Benton County, Chelan County, Clallam County).

Your selections will appear, and can be managed, on the right under “Assessment Location.”

–> Click the “Data Indicators” button at the bottom right to move to the next step.

Step 2 of the assessment tool. The picture shows a screenshot of the location selection function. Users can select a more specific geography from the list after they select a top-level geography from the tabs. The screenshot shows to click the "Data Indicators" button at the bottom right of the screen to move to the next step.

STEP THREE: Select the data indicators you want to include in your report. Click the carets on the right to expand the data categories.

Click the check box next to the indicator name (e.g., total population, population with any disability, veteran population) to add single indicators to your report.

Click the check box next to the data category name (e.g., demographics, clinical care, health behaviors) to add an entire data category to your report.

–> Click the “Reports” button at the bottom right to generate your report.

Step 3.1 of the assessment tool. The picture shows a screenshot of the data indicators selection function. Users can click the carets located on the left side of the tool to open the data categories, view available indicators, and select indicators for the report.

Step 3.2 of the assessment tool. The picture shows a screenshot of the data indicators selection function. Users can click the check box to the left of an indicator name to add it to the report. Users can click the check box to the left of the category name to add an entire category of indicators to the report. The screenshot shows to click the "Reports" button at the bottom right of the screen to move to the next step.

STEP FOUR: Explore your completed report. Scroll down to view the data you selected for your report.

Use the round menu button at the bottom of the page to jump quickly between indicators.

Step 4 of the assessment tool. The picture shows a screenshot of the report and the floating report menu. Users can jump between indicators by clicking an indicator name in the floating menu at the bottom right of the screen. Users can close the floating menu by clicking the round button with the "X" located at the bottom right of the screen.

STEP FIVE: Click the “Share” button at the top of the report to share your report via link, email, or on social media.

Click the “Download As” button to download your report as a PDF file, Excel table, or Microsoft Word document.

Need assistance? Email us at help@cares.missouri.edu