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INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHP

Equipping members for Global Mission

and Outreach

General Conference Sabbath School and Personal Ministries

Community Services & Urban Ministry Certification Program

Module Syllabus & Teaching Notes

CS 02 Community Needs Assessment & Social Capital

2 contact hours (plus field work)

Developed by Monte Sahlin

Ohio Conference

msahlin@

©2011 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®

Table of Contents

Preface Page 3

Learning Objectives Page 6

Textbook Page 8

Presenter’s Notes Page 10

Additional Resources Page 41

Handouts Page 48

Preface

This preface contains some basic information that needs to be understood before going on to the actual content of this curriculum resource. It addresses planners of training, departmental directors and church administrators, as well as potential or assigned presenters.

How This Module Fits into the International Institute of Christian Discipleship (IICD)

A major segment of the IICD is the Community Services & Urban Ministry curriculum. This module is part of that section of IICD although it could just as easily fit with evangelism or other ministries. Studying the local “mission field” or community is a foundational step in any kind of ministry or outreach including evangelism, personal ministries, church planting and community service. That is why this module comes before Ministry Development, building the capacity of Adventist Community Services centers and agencies, etc.

This module is part of the level 1 curriculum for the IICD certificate in Adventist Community Services & Urban Ministry. It seeks to help the learner understand local community systems and needs, find information about their local community, and learn some basic methods of community assessment that have been and can be successfully used by lay persons in almost any national or cultural context around the globe. (“Lay” persons is used here both in the sense of Church work and the professions related to community research, community development, social work, urban studies, etc.)

This module can also be used as a guide for teaching the Pathfinder Club honor on Community Assessment. That honor is designed for teen-aged young people, not children under 13 years of age. For more information go to:

Is This Module Specific to North America?

No. This material has repeatedly been taught and the learnings implemented in a number of nations. It does tend to focus more on urban society than traditional, rural village contexts. Frankly, this is in large part due to two factors: First, the whole notion of researching a community or needs assessment is largely unknown in traditional village society, except by anthropologists who are, by definition, outsiders. Second, the majority of the world’s population is now located in cities and their suburbs. This becomes the primary type of mission field for Adventist Community Services.

In addition, the author is willing to assist individuals who wish to adapt the textbook and module materials to their particular national context. He and a team at the Center for Metropolitan Ministry have worked through this process with partners in several countries and would be happy to do so again.

How to Use the Module Materials

The Presenter’s Guide (the document you hold in your hands at the moment) is designed to provide talking points and background material for a departmental director, a church member, or pastor who has been assigned to teach the module CS 102, “Community Assessment and Social Capital.” It also contains instructions on how to implement the key exercises and field assignments in the module, as well as an extensive list of additional resources that you may want to consult as you adapt this module for your purposes and your cultural context. If this topic is new to you, it would be helpful to read several of the books and articles listed among the additional resources.

The PowerPoint slides provide an outline and some illustrations of the material you will present orally. Of module, these can be translated into local languages or adapted to your particular situation.

The Handouts at the end of this document are to be duplicated and given to the participants as you conduct the module. They are packaged as separate items instead of a single package in order to give presenters maximum control over what you choose to present and what you choose to leave out. If English is not the language in which your module will be taught, then it would be wise to have the handouts translated into another language. More importantly, there are some items in some handouts that may need to be edited to reflect more clearly the situation in your particular nation or culture.

Materials You Will Need

1. This Presenter’s Guide

2. The PowerPoint presentation

3. Copies of the Handouts for the participants

4. A map of a major city or metropolitan area

5. A map of a local community

6. A demographic profile of a local community

Items 4, 5 and 6 need to be relevant to the nation or culture in which you are presenting this module, but do not need to be from the specific local community in which your class may be located. The exception to this statement would be a situation in which you are presenting this module for a particular local church or a cluster of local churches in a metropolitan area. In that case, it would be well to have these items from that specific community and metropolitan area. (The separate “Links by Country” PDF handout provides links to specific resources in each nation on the globe and the textbook, Understanding Your Community, teaches methods for how to find these specific items for any local community.)

Learning Objectives

After completion of this module a participant will:

1. Understand why it is important to do a community assessment to provide the basis for planning of community service and other forms of outreach and evangelism.

2. Learn to identify the boundaries of a local community and define its place in the larger society in which it is located.

3. Know how to conduct a visual survey of a community which will enable them alone or a team to see the way people live and the social conditions in the community.

4. Discover the basic demographic and religious information about the people who live in the community and analyze it for clues to their needs, attitudes, values and lifestyles.

5. Interview a representative sample of community leaders (alone or together with a team) and find specific needs and opportunities for ministry, as well as measure the awareness of and attitudes toward the Adventist Church among these leaders.

6. Prepare a written and/or visual report about the community that can be presented to a planning committee, church board or other group charged with the responsibility of deciding on missional goals and strategies.

Student Requirements to Take the Module

No particular module or prior education or professional experience is necessary, although it is essential that learners be literate and have a general knowledge of the world beyond their immediate families and congregation. Success in this module will be greater if most of the participants are clear about two foundational theological concepts, both of which are covered in the IICD module CS101, “Theological, Historical and Ethical Concepts of Holistic Ministry.” If participants cannot see that the mission of the Adventist Church is primarily not about internal church activities, but focused on what God wants to do in the community and world beyond the Church, they will find it difficult to understand why the various topics in the module are even of interest. The same will be true if they do not have a holistic view of mission and see it entirely in terms of recruiting church members and propagating doctrine.

Module Delivery Methods

This module is designed to be taught in a one-day or half-day workshop, or in four class sessions over a week or a month. The most common presentation method to date is to spend the middle of a day, with two hours of instruction before lunch and another two hours of instruction after lunch. Four hours could also be done in a morning or afternoon, especially if this module is one among several options during a larger training event such as a convention, congress or weekend retreat.

If it is taught as a one-day workshop then field experiences can be included as well as the four hours of classroom sessions. Participants can spend an hour or two doing the visual survey of a local community and perhaps even do an interview with a community leader. The interview(s) could be done with each participant sent to interview one person or in teams of two, or by inviting a community leader into the class for a group interview. The same could be done if the module is taught on four evenings during a week or once a week over a period of four or more weeks.

Textbook

No textbook is required; the module is designed to be taught without one. Participants will learn more and a higher percentage will actually put into practice what they learn if the book Understanding Your Community is read during or following the module. The original version of this book was written for the North American Division and primarily addresses the social context in the United States. Reworked editions have been published in the Philippines, in Russia and in Brazil. Extracted materials have been translated into Spanish and French. The copyright is owned by the Center for Creative Ministry and the Center for Metropolitan Ministry (located at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Maryland) and there is an open offer to collaborate with any Seventh-day Adventist Church employee or any professional with related education to produce versions adapted to particular national or regional contexts.

The current Revised Edition (with a purple cover) can be obtained from AdventSource, the leadership resources center for the North American Division at . The Center for Creative Ministry also publishes a generic Christian edition (the Third Edition with a green cover) which can be ordered at and is used by a number of Christian universities and seminaries in North America. New editions with further revisions will be forthcoming in the near future as the most recent census is published in the U.S. These newer editions will be published as downloadable PDF files on the Center for Creative Ministry Web site.

Even if the choice is made to not bring the textbook into the module presentations (due to considerations of expense, logistics, etc.) it would be a good idea for the presenter to read the book. The module is designed so this is not necessary, but it would be helpful to the presenter. It would give them a lot more information from which to answer questions that may come up, etc.

Presenter’s Notes

(Slide 1) Assessment is the essential first step in reaching out to any community. It is the same as one of the basic rules of Bible study: we must understand the context. What is the community context in which you want to do community service or missionary outreach or evangelism? This module will give you the tools to answer that question about any local community.

Our example is Jesus. He spent 30 years observing the context of humanity before He launched His ministry on Earth. Is there any valid reason why we would ignore this example?

It is arrogant to try to “meet the needs” of a community without taking time to identify and understand those needs. Such arrogance does not meet the standard that Christ set in Mark 10:45 and symbolized by kneeling to wash the feet of the disciples in the upper room. (Slide 2)

Ellen White begins her paradigm of “Christ’s method” of “reaching the people” with the verb “mingle” and describes Christ’s attitude toward the community as being “one who desired their good.” (The Ministry of Healing, page 143; Slide 3) Notice that mingling comes prior to meeting needs and that comes prior to winning the confidence of people and that all comes before asking people to consider following Jesus. Assessment is the first activity in any effective outreach venture.

Ellen White also writes that we must “understand humanity” in order to “transform” it. (Education, page 78) She is very specific about what is necessary to achieve this understanding of the people we want to reach. “It requires a knowledge of human nature, close study, careful thought and earnest prayer, to know how to approach men and women.” (Gospel Workers, page 92) [Both are on Slide 4.]

These comments by Ellen White clearly define what is today called community assessment. Community assessment is about understanding the community you want to reach, understanding the people who live there, identifying their needs, their values, their attitudes and lifestyles. All of this is essential to what Ellen White calls “true success” in outreach. (MH 143) Her reference to “true success” implies that there is a counterfeit success that may attend efforts launched without a community assessment, but she does not approve of such.

Preparation at Local Church for Assessment and Beyond

(Slide 5) Before you do the assessment work outside your church, there is necessary groundwork that must be done within your church. You must recruit a team of church members who have a passion for seeking, serving, and saving the lost in your community. These members must be committed to long-term comprehensive and holistic ministry that will transform your community in Jesus’ name. In English, a suggested name for the team is the Social Action Leadership Team. This team will lead out in providing essential information for developing programming for the current year and beyond. SALT is the ACS team, working with the church ACS director.

(Slide 6) The Social Action Leadership Team (SALT) should have approximately 4-6 members, and must be willing and able to work in a team that will help launch the church into ministry that will be meaningful to people in the community. Also they must be willing and able to interview key leaders in the local community to discover the felt needs. Instruction and practice should be provided on how to interview community leaders.

(Slide 7) In churches that run an ACS Center, there will be a separate team/committee that operates the center.

(Slide 8) Another part of the groundwork for positioning your church for responding to community needs is to assess the resources of your church itself. You need to know what you have to offer the community. (Slide 9) shows an example of a form that each church member can fill out so that you will know their experience/interests and skills.

Map Work—Identify the Community

The very first step in community assessment is to get a good map of the area, preferably one that shows all of the roads and streets. If planning begins with a large view, then initially you may want to look at a map that covers an entire metropolitan area or rural region, and then switch to a more localized map as you focus on a particular local area. (Slide 10)

[Note to Presenter: It will greatly enhance your teaching of this module if you can obtain prior to your presentation a good map of a typical local community in your nation. The best idea is to have a large map that you can put up on a wall or display board in the classroom and allow the module participants to study up close.]

With a good, local map in hand, you need to determine what are the boundaries of the community you intend to study. In each country in the world there are national customs regarding how local communities are defined—neighborhood, commune, village, barrio, district, town. Some industrialized nations have a system of postal codes designed to help postal workers know where to deliver mail, which also provide excellent definitions of local communities.

Discussion Questions: 1. What are the boundaries that define the community where your church or ministry is located? (Is it "city limits" or municipal lines? Is it a Zip Code in the U.S.? Is it some major topographic elements that you can see on a map---a river, a highway, etc.?) 2. Would the non-member people who live in this community agree with those boundaries as being the boundaries of what they see as their community?

[Note to Presenter: It is necessary to answer #1 because without certain kinds of geographic definitions it is impossible to collect information. It is necessary to answer #2 because many times the way the church leaders/members define "the community" is actually out of touch with the way it is defined by the local civic leaders and residents.

The reason why this discussion is focused on how non-members define the local community is because in many parts of the world the members of a typical Adventist local church commute to church from outside the local community. They are not local residents, but often assume that they know local information and opinions. They cannot do accurate community assessment unless they can get beyond this thinking.]

It is important to follow official boundaries because that is how information is tagged. You cannot find the available information about a local community unless you use the official designations used by local and national government agencies, non-governmental organizations, etc. (Slide 11)

Handout 1: The first handout is a listing of all of the nations on the globe with an indication of the official terminology for local communities and for the regional units (province, state, etc.), “Primary” and “Secondary” units. “Primary” refers to the regional units such as a province. “Secondary” refers to the local communities. This was downloaded from an important Web site that provides an excellent trove of information for this module. This handout is from the Web site . If you go to the Web site, you can click on the key words for local community units and get several pages of information about when these definitions were updated, where to get localized definitions with boundaries of specific local communities, etc.

We will return to Handout 1 later because it also includes linkages to demographic statistics, postal code boundaries, and maps. Right now what we want to see is the correct terminology for a local community (“Secondary” area) in this country.

[Note to Presenter: If you are presenting this module to a group that is entirely from one nation, you can extract the information and place it on a PowerPoint slide inserted after Slide 6, or put it on a single-sheet handout instead of using the time and money to make copies of the many pages of Handout 1. If you are teaching the module a group coming from several nations or who have an international scope, you may want to give them the entire handout.]

What Type of Community Is It?

(Slide 12) The second step is to identify the type of community the assessment is focusing on. The typology of communities in today’s world is based on urbanization. The process of urbanization is the major sociological phenomena of the last 150 years on Earth. It parallels the growth of the Adventist movement around the world. By 2007 the majority of the world’s population was urbanized and rapid urbanization continues in the Southern hemisphere (Africa, Asia and Latin America) while the major, industrialized nations of the Northern hemisphere have been 80 percent to 90 percent urbanized since the middle of the 20th century. It is impossible to understand a local community unless we understand its role in the larger, regional system which is almost always focused around a large city.

The standard typology starts with the central district of a metropolitan area, a community where commercial, government, and university institutions are headquartered. There are usually many high-rise buildings and often major medical centers also. The businesses that provide insurance, trading, finance, banking, accountants and attorneys are usually found in this center city community. (Slide 12, inner circle)

Industrialized nations usually have a ring of old, original industrial sectors near the center of the city—a “donut” around the central business district. This is sometimes called the “inner city” and represents the building of factories in the 19th century along with warehouses for goods and housing for workers, all of which have become slums as new technology caused manufacturing to move on over the decades. The outer edges of this ring will also have a few very wealthy neighborhoods that represent the traditional homes of the power elite of the city. There are also neighborhoods near universities populated entirely by students, faculty, writers, artists, poets, musicians, etc. (Slide 12, first circle around the inner circle)

Suburbs are the residential communities that make up the third layer of urban development. In older cities in the more industrialized nations, the suburbs are made up of successive rings of settlement over periods of growth. Each suburban community can be identified with the decade in which it was built. Some house working class families, some middle class families and a few the more affluent families. In developing nations there are fewer working and middle class suburbs and more communities made up of the poor, perhaps squatters living in makeshift housing with no plumbing or infrastructure. The “favela” in Brazil or the township in South Africa or the shanty towns in India are all examples of the suburbs of the developing world. (Slide 12, next to the outer circle)

Suburbs are tied to the central city by jobs and economic links. The employed breadwinners of the suburbs commute into the city for work and go into the city for football games, concerts and cultural events. Some people mistakenly think that a suburb is outside the city, especially in those nations where suburban communities are allowed to become municipalities legally separated from the central city, but none of them would exist if the city were taken away. A suburban community is dependent on the larger metropolitan system.

It is sometimes difficult to know precisely where the city ends and the country begins. In today’s world there are many satellite towns and green belts, as well as “Edge City” developments (often around new airports). An outer suburb may be surrounded by a green belt and people may think of it as a separate city, yet the statistics show that the majority of the employed heads of households commute to work closer in to the central city.

The small towns and rural areas are outside the metropolitan area. (Slide 12, outer circle) Small towns usually have populations of 2,500 to 50,000 people. Any town with a population larger than 50,000 would be considered a small city and the suburbs would be added to this city to make a metropolitan area. “World class” metropolitan areas are those with a population of one million or greater.

Villages would be settlements numbering fewer than 2,500 people or sometimes a smaller threshold in some nations. Rural areas are those where farms, forests, jungle and undeveloped land stretches on and individual homes are scattered. Although in many countries, the larger portion of Adventist churches are found in small towns and rural areas, most of the world’s population no longer lives there. The mission of Christ on Earth is always where there are lost people and today that is primarily in the cities and surrounding suburbs.

Key Question: What type of community are you working in?

Discussion Questions: (1) Where is your community located relative to the center city area of your metropolitan region? (2) What kind of housing and commercial buildings exist in this community? (3) Do the majority of the residents work at businesses and institutions in your community or do they commute to other communities, closer to the center city area? (4) What percent of the people make a living from local agriculture?

[Note to Presenter: Allow each participant to answer the key question and allow the group to struggle with finding the right answers to the discussion questions. This is how they learn the abstract concepts involved at this point in the lesson.]

Narrow Down Territory

(Slide 13) Once you have determined what kind of community you are working in, you can better choose and narrow down your territory. Take out the map of your territory. If you are serving in an urban community, using your church/community services center as the center, draw a circle on your map equivalent to three miles (5 km) out. Maybe only 20 blocks will be adequate if your community is densely populated. In a suburban community draw a circle that represents the equivalent of 9 miles (15 km) out from your church/community services center. If your church/community services center is in a small town or rural area, draw a circle to represent 15 miles (24 km) out. After you have drawn your circle, mark on your map all Adventist churches/centers of influence/institutions in and near your territory circle. See (Slide 14) for an example of one church’s territory map. This church is a suburban church, so the circle indicates a territory with a 9-mile (15 km) radius. The area churches are also indicated.

Walking Survey or Windshield Survey

(Slide 15) A basic step in studying a community is simply to get a visual survey of the area. This method of assessment is called a “Walking Survey” or a “Windshield Survey.” In more densely-populated urban neighborhoods a Walking Survey is appropriate. In suburbs and small towns a Windshield Survey (driving a car) may be more appropriate.

(Slide 16) This method is best done in teams of two, although a Walking Survey could be done alone. The method is to walk or drive a “grid pattern” just like airplanes searching for a missing flight or crashed plane. The best survey will cover every street. If there are “too many” streets to reasonably cover all of them, then a random sample of every third or fifth street can be marked out on a map. In order to have a true picture of a community it is important to get a random sample by counting out every third street or every fifth street and not simply pick streets in an informal, impressionistic fashion. (Slide 9)

Handout 2: (Slide 17) This is a worksheet to take notes while walking or driving the grid pattern through the community. It includes lists of things to look for. Observation skills are important: What do you see that tells you about the people who live here? It is important to take careful notes to gather the information to share with others.

If there is a team of people to do this method, they would each be given so many streets to drive or walk across the community, back and forth. Teams of two are necessary if they are driving because one person should drive and other take notes to avoid a car crash. Teams of two may also be necessary with a Walking Survey both for reasons of safety and in order to get a more careful and complete set of observations. One team member could look at each side of the street and they might both take notes.

The debriefing session: (Slide 18) After the observers go out for a couple of hours and cover the streets, taking notes, come together and share your observations. Put up a big map on the wall to collect notes from the observers. Ask each team for a detailed report and ask them to turn in their worksheets.

Once the reports are in and key themes have been put up on the map and chalkboard or flip chart, discuss the reported observations as a group. What does this information tell us about the people? What does it mean? (Slide 19)

Why this method is important: If we consider numbers (demographics) without being able to visualize the people, we create a skewed image of the community in our minds. If we simply go with “what we already know,” we have a prejudiced image of the community (pre-judged). We must a fresh look at the community gathered in a careful, disciplined manner.

Every time I do this with a church or mission group, someone says, “We don’t need to do this. We’ve been here for so many years and we know the community.” But once they’ve done it, they always see new things; see the people in a new way. We need to develop—through practice—the caring eyes of Jesus! And do so in a practical sense. Each time I do this with a team, I send them out with a brief prayer, “Open our eyes to see what Jesus wants us to see.” It is always an amazing, transforming experience for the group.

Demographics

(Slide 20) Demographics are simply the basic realities about a community: How many people live here? How many households? What is the age profile? What about gender, ethnicity and immigration? What kinds of families or households are present? How do people make a living? What is the economic situation of the people? How much poverty and unemployment? How much education do the people have? What kind of homes do they live in? What religions are they affiliated with and what is the percentage in each faith or denomination?

(Slide 21) This kind of basic information is gathered through the census conducted by the government. You need to obtain a report on the most recent published census for your local area. In almost every nation in the world, this information is available on the Internet. Most nations have a Web site where they provide the census information. The numbers are provided for the whole country and “local areas.” You want the “local area” information for your community.

The Web sites for some of the largest nations on the globe are presented in (Slide 22). The Web site provides access to the census data for almost every nation on the globe. (See Handout 1.)

Note to Presenter: You may want to revise Slide 22 or replace it with a slide showing the census Web site or sites for the nation or nations in which you are presenting this training unit. You might need to use one of the online search engines such as Google to find the census Web site for your country. Search for “census [nation]” and “statistics [nation]” and once you find the web site and get into it, look at the menus to find where local area information is stored.

It is also a good idea for you to take the time to show an actual census Web site to your group. If you have a computer connected to a video projector and in position to access the Web, your class can observe while you open the census Web site and navigate to the various sections, demonstrating how to find local area information for specific communities. Ask your group to suggest a community and then find it and display the data. The demonstration will encourage them to use this resource.

What do these numbers mean? There are a number of analytical methods used to understand demographics and to identify needs in the community. One method is to compare local percentages with national percentages. If your community has more than the national percentage, then this may be an area of need. There are some examples on (Slide 23): Poverty in this community compared to the entire nation is more or less of a need? Children in this community compared to the entire nation represent more or less of a need? Aged people in this community compared to the entire nation represent more or less need?

Another approach to analyzing demographic data is to compare different percentages for the same community over time. Is the community growing in total population? Is it growing at a rate greater than or less than the national growth rate? Is a larger percentage of the population in poverty or unemployed when compared to the last census? (Slide 24) In other words, is the quality of life in this community improving or degrading? What particular dimensions of life—health, family relationships, economics, crime and violence—are getting better and which are getting worse?

Note to Presenter: It is important to display data to your group (such as Slides 23 and 24) and let them make observations and struggle with the information. This is how they learn and develop the skills of analysis. Demographics are useless as just a set of numbers; it is the analysis that people do which leads to the discovery of needs in the community and the basis for plans for meeting those needs. This is something like swimming lessons; it takes some time. Spend quality time with your group looking at actual data from your area.

Make Your Own Handout: It would be good to have a handout showing the demographics from your country and region. You can prepare this from the Web site for the census in your nation. These are useful for your group not only in providing examples for analysis, but also in providing comparisons for their local community data.

There are many more methods that can be used to analyze demographics and use them in planning for community service, evangelism and church planting in the book Understanding Your Community (Slide 25). You should read the chapter on “What do Demographics Mean to Your Ministry?” That will give you added insight and material to teach this section.

Interviewing Civic Leaders

Although there is much information that is published to help provide a needs assessment for a local community, it is very important to actually talk to people from the community and get their input. But, simply talking to a few average citizens that you run into does not provide valid information. In order to get reliable information, there must be a truly random sample of adequate size which is often beyond the expertise of local Adventist Community Services leaders and too expensive to hire a professional to do for the local group.

A practical way to get a good survey is to interview a sample of civic leaders, sometimes called “thought leaders” or “influentials.” This is a much smaller, manageable group—a sample of 12 or 18 yields worthwhile information. This is also a way to become known among key people in the community and gain their support for your community service activities.

(Slide 26) There are six kinds of leaders in every community and if you get a balanced sample that includes these six sectors, you will have a balanced view of the community and its needs.

The business sector includes the proprietors of small businesses such as shops, restaurants, vending carts, services such as plumbers and barbers, and people who sell various commodities in the marketplace. It also includes the managers of local outlets of national and international companies such as supermarket chains, department stores, fast food companies, etc. Of particular importance are local bankers who provide finance for local businesses as well as retail banking services for the residents. The business sector is usually represented in the community by a local Chamber of Commerce. In some nations there is an allied organization of young adults involved in business called the Junior Chamber of Commerce or Jaycees.

Government is an important sector of any community. Top elected officials are usually the most visible leaders in any community. These include mayors, city council members, and commissioners of various kinds. Government also includes the law enforcement officers such as police chief and other key leaders such as the fire chief. In larger cities these officers will have associates who deal in community relations. Some government agencies are included in other sectors.

Education includes both government officials and private institutions. The principals of the secondary and/or elementary school in the community are important leaders to be interviewed. If there are significant private or parochial schools, these principals should also be interviewed. These are generally more important sources than higher-level education officials in the public school system such as school district superintendents or board members.

Health and social services are provided by a number of organizations, some government, some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and, in some countries, private-practice professionals such as physicians, dentists and counselors. It would be well to interview someone who ranks high in health care as well as a top government official in social services. Other interviews should be with the director of a homeless shelter or refugee camp in the community, if such exist. It is also important to talk to a professional who works in preventive medicine and one who is involved with HIV-AIDS work. The perspective of a trained social worker is also invaluable in any community needs assessment.

Media is organized differently in each nation. Most communities have a local newspaper. Interviewing the editor or one of the editors is essential. More and more places have one or more local Web sites that carry news of the community. Some countries issue permits for local radio stations and television stations in the larger cities. It is important to know that the news director or the community relations director is the person to interview, not the manager or managing director. In the more developed countries there are many other kinds of public media.

Religion is an important part of any community, no matter how secular the country. It is a good idea to interview the local religious leaders (pastors, Rabbis, Imams, etc.) of the major faiths in your area. Some may initially be hostile and even refuse an interview, but if you stick to the purpose of gathering information about community needs, listening carefully to what they say and refuse to argue doctrine with them, it will do much to break down barriers of misunderstanding and improve their perception of the Adventist Church. In some places there is a clergy association or council of congregations, and the chairperson of this group would be an important person to interview.

There are a number of key leaders in each of these sectors. The book Understanding Your Community includes a list of 50 key leadership roles that exist in most communities in the United States sorted into these six categories. There are more specialized questions suggested for each office. You could probably prepare a similar list for your country or region of the world. This would provide a very useful supplementary handout.

How to Do the Interviews

(Slide 27) One goal of this instructional unit is to teach participants how to do an interview with a civic leader. This begins with getting an appointment ahead of time, either by telephone or a visit to their office in which you do not expect speak to them, but to make arrangements with their scheduler or office secretary for a date and time to talk to them. You will be asked the purpose of the interview, and it is important to have a quick, concise answer: “My church [or ACS center, etc.] is doing a community assessment and we want to interview key civic leaders to hear about the needs in this community.”

Handout 3: This is a basic interview guide with the core questions to be used in any interview with a civic leader. Questions may be added because of a particular focus of the assessment or because of the particular specialization of the individual being interviewed. Familiarize yourself with the questions before you go to an interview, but be prepared to be flexible. Often there are follow-up questions that become important as you listen to the person. You can ask these and then go to the next basic question on the list.

(Slide 28) Begin by introducing yourself very briefly and thanking the civic leader for the chance to interview them. Tell them that their name will not be quoted in any report; comments will be anonymous.

Listen carefully and take notes. This is not the time and place to try to tell them anything, even if they make non-factual statements. You are here to listen and learn, even if you learn that they do not understand who Adventists are, for example. Civic leaders do not like to be corrected and you have not built up the credibility with them to do so at this time. Make note of their misinformation and in the future your organization may have opportunity to change their views.

Exercise: It is a good idea to have the group divide into teams of three and practice doing an interview. Give them about 10 minutes and then break in and tell them to pass their role to the left and then give them another 10 minutes for the new interviewer to pick up at the place where the previous interviewer left off. After 10 minutes do this again. The third person in each round has the role of observer and should take notes on how the interviewer does. After the 30 minutes of practice rounds, at least five minutes should be given for debriefing with feedback from the observers. Use (Slide 29) for this exercise or simply to review the basic interview questions.

How to Compile a Report

The usual way in which a community assessment is implemented is by a team of church members (e.g. Social Action Leadership Team—SALT) or volunteers from a local Adventist Community Services organization. Each team member will do one or two interviews and then the team meets and each individual brings in the notes from their interview or interviews. These are compiled to create an overall report. Even if one person does a community assessment by him or herself, doing all of the interviews, the notes from all the interviews are brought together to create a summary report. (Slide 30)

Organize the responses from all of the interviews under each key question. Then review each key question one at a time and analyze the responses: (1) Which answers were mentioned the most often? (2) What are key themes? (3) Are there specific opportunities that were suggested? (4) How can we use this information in our planning?

(Slide 31) Combine information from all four analytical questions above into an overall report to the planning committee or other decision-making body. The report should have an introduction that describes how the information was gathered, noting how many interviews were actually completed and how many in each of the six major sectors of civic leaders, and mentioning the dates over which the interviews were done and the names of the interviewers, but not the names of the persons interviewed. Explain that the individuals interviewed were promised anonymity.

The final product of the community assessment process should be an overall report that includes the information from the interviews (described in the previous three paragraphs) with the information from all of the other community assessment methods. Include the map of the community and a brief description of the type of community it is. Include the findings from the walking survey or windshield survey. Include the demographics that have been gathered. Write a concise overview of what has been found from all of the methods and any recommendations for further study. This is a valuable document because it includes all of the information from all of the various methods used, including methods we have not presented here.

This report becomes a foundational tool for planning and program development. It provides the information necessary to decide key items in developing an Adventist Community Services project: What needs will we meet in this community? What assets (resources, allies, etc.) will be utilized to meet these needs? What will be the goals of our service programs?

Social Capital

(Slide 32) What is “social capital” as a concept and why would we include it in training for Adventist Community Services? It is a term that urban studies researchers and community development specialists have begun to use in recent years to describe the network of relationships in a community, the civic organizations, community workers and volunteers who make up the forces working for the betterment of that community. It is rooted in an empowerment approach to poor and marginal communities, in the belief that even the most impoverished communities have some assets—their own energy and creativity and care for one another—which can be focused on improving the quality of life in that community.

(Slide 33) When the residents of a community come together around worthwhile goals to improve the conditions under which they and their families live, there is a better chance that those goals will be realized. If each group within the community goes a different way, focusing on different goals it is less likely that anything will be accomplished. There is an old tradition in many countries around the globe that when the harvest time comes, farmers come together and help their neighbors bring in their harvest, working as a large group and moving from farm to farm. It helps to get the work done quickly without each farmer exhausting himself and his family. If a farmer is ill or hurt in an accident, his neighbors get his harvest in anyway so that his family will not starve in the coming dry season or winter. This is social capital—a vigorous community with cooperative neighbors can better take care of itself than one that is divided and lacks the social infrastructure to accomplish important goals.

(Slide 34). According to the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual all members are expected to “be recognized as outstanding citizens in ... working for the common good of all.” And to “support by our service and our means, as far as possible and consistent, all proper efforts for social order and betterment.” Adventists are expected to “stand apart from all political and social strife” and “maintain an uncompromising stand for justice and right in civic affairs, along with strict adherence to our religious convictions.” (Chapter on “Standards of Christian Living”) It is clearly a part of the Adventist message and mission for us to help to build up the social capital in the communities where our churches are located, and Adventist Community Services is a major organizational unit through which Adventists work to accomplish this goal in Christ’s name.

(Slide 35) Social capital is a particularly important concept to Adventist Community Services because it is an organization that operates almost entirely on very limited means. In addition to using all possible methods for raising money and keeping expenses to the minimum, ACS centers and agencies are often concerned about how to achieve meaningful goals or even survive. Social capital represents another asset that ACS can tap. Social capital consists of positive, productive relationships that are just as valuable as money in the bank.

A thorough community assessment seeks to understand the social capital of the community. Before you can develop strategies for mining your social capital, you need a clear picture of your organization’s connections and networks. A good first step is to create a “social capital map” suggests James Krile in The Community Leadership Handbook (pages 123-129).

(Slide 36) In order to get a realistic idea of the amount of social capital available to undergird a given goal or plan, it is necessary to not only list relationships in the community, but also to assess the strength of each relationship. “The concepts of strong ties and weak ties refer to relative degrees of trust, reciprocity and durability. ... Trust [is] the belief in and reliance on the honesty, integrity and reliability of other people. Reciprocity [is] a mutual, fair benefit from the relationship over time. Durability [is] lasting over time through stress and changing circumstances. ... You can use these concepts to assess the strength of a relationship and its potential social capital. Mapping your group’s pattern of ties will help you assess your current social capital and identify where to develop more social capital.”

It is easy to use strong relationships to gather resources behind a community project or goal. Large, transformational goals make it necessary to also involve partners with whom your group has only weak relationships. Don’t underestimate the need to have a wide range of relationships in order to successfully implement significant community service projects.

Characteristics of Strong Ties

(See slide 36.) Relationships that are high in trust, reciprocity and durability constitute strong ties. This usually means there is a rich friendship investment in the relationship. We repeatedly connect with people with whom we have strong ties for a wide range of goals, information and resources. We have much in common with them and as friendship builds over time, as we collaborate in many different community projects, there is more and more social capital.

Strong ties mean these are people and organizations that we find it easy to go to and ask for help or offer our assistance to their goal. Strong ties mean not only resources and ideas for community service projects, but also real friendship and caring.

There are also limits to relationships that constitute strong ties. Because these ties usually are with people and groups that have similar ideas and life experience as we do, they limit the variety of ideas and resources we can bring to an initiative. They often do not get us connected with new relationships, but keep us in the path of the predictable; we tend to do the same things year after year even when needs and opportunities change.

Characteristics of Weak Ties

These are relationships with much lower levels of trust, reciprocity and durability. There is little investment or history with these relationships. Perhaps these are people and groups who we need to connect with, but with whom we have no past relationship. They may have never heard of Adventist Community Services. For example, national surveys of the general public in the United States find that 95 percent of Americans think that Adventists are not involved in community causes of any kind.

We contact people and organizations with whom we have weak ties out of necessity. We have a specific need that only they can fill. We need to show that we are doing something that is meaningful to them. This is what community development experts call “bridging” social capital. Relationships may be strengthened because two or more groups must work together to achieve specific outcomes that cannot otherwise be attained.

There are a number of benefits to situations of this kind. Your group is able to broaden its relationships and connect with more diverse information and resources. You gain access to a larger set of networks and more people learn about Adventist Community Services. You are building a broader base of support for your project. You are preparing the ground for future projects which require a larger set of relationships and cooperating organizations.

The limitations of weak ties are primarily that they are more difficult to access. It takes time to get appointments to talk with people who don’t know you and more time to develop cooperative relationships or get permission to utilize specific resources. Those with whom you have weak ties are also likely to help you only for limited purposes—specific goals and projects that are important to them. They may even stress that they can only help “this one time” and seem to close the door to future cooperation. It is best to understand these statements in terms of them wanting to see how the relationship works out before they are willing to commit on a longer-term basis.

Mapping Social Capital

There are two exercises that can be done to produce a “map” of your social capital. One is designed to be done by an individual working alone and the other is designed to be done by a team representing a local Adventist Community Services entity.

[Note to Presenter: If you have a training group that is made up of individuals (perhaps leaders) from many different local ACS units, then you should use the individual exercise. If you are conducting training for one specific local team or teams from several local ACS units, then you should use the group exercise.]

An Individual Exercise

The purpose of this exercise is for an individual to map his or her social capital in general or as it relates to a specific project for which he or she needs to find key stakeholders and potential partners. It can be used as a training exercise in an Adventist Community Services training event to help participants learn this tool for future use, even if they do not have an immediate need to do so. (Slide 37)

Step One: List the relevant groups and organizations—Use Handout 4. In the column headed “Group or Organization” list the organizations with which you are linked. For example, groups where you have been a member or volunteer in the past, or maybe you have attended an advisory meeting or served on a committee with a representative from this group. Also include organizations you have done business with and those where know someone personally. Maybe a church member works there or does business with this group. If you are doing this exercise with a specific project or goal in mind, then list only those organizations that have some potential interest in that project or goal.

Step Two: Think about the strength of your ties—In the second column write “strong” or “weak” to indicate your guess about the strength of your ties with each organization that you have listed.

Step Three: List the resources for each group—In the third column write down the specific resources or assets that each group might provide to you and/or your specific project or goal. Is it expertise, the use of facilities or equipment, funding or in-kind donations that they might provide, or helping to advertize your project or cause? Maybe it is simply an endorsement that will get you greater visibility or acceptability in the community. Maybe an organization can provide volunteers or people with certain skills. Maybe it can get you access to a larger network of organizations.

Step Four: Analyze your lists—When you are done listing as much information as you can think of, read back over the information and think about these questions: (1) What resources do your strong ties provide to you? (2) What resources do your weak ties potentially provide to you? (3) Are there ties that you want to strengthen? If so, how would you strengthen them? (4) Are there relevant organizations that do not appear on your worksheet? Why? (5) How will you gain access to these organizations from Question 4? (6) How can you leverage your relationships to gain access to more groups and resources?

Step Five: Determine your next steps—After you have completed the analysis, then make specific plans. Write down next to each organization in the last column the specific steps you will take in relating to that organization. How will you strengthen ties, build new ties, make specific requests for resources, etc.?

A Team Exercise

The same process described above can be used with a team from an Adventist Community Services group in a local community or working together over a larger region such as a major metropolitan area. The purpose is the same; to map the social capital of an organization in general or as it relates to a specific project or goal. It is necessary to add one additional step in the process where all of the individuals in the team combine their individual lists into one master list. (Slide 38)

Step One: List the relevant groups and organizations—Give each team member a copy of Handout 4. Ask each team member to list in the column headed “Group or Organization” the organizations with which they are linked. For example, groups where you have been a member or volunteer in the past, or maybe you have attended an advisory meeting or served on a committee with a representative from this group. Also include organizations you have done business with and those where know someone personally. Maybe a church member works there or does business with this group. If you are doing this exercise with a specific project or goal in mind, then list only those organizations that have some potential interest in that project or goal.

Step Two: Think about the strength of your ties—Ask each team member to write in the second column “strong” or “weak” to indicate their guess about the strength of their ties with each organization that they have listed.

Step Three: List the resources for each group—Ask each team member to write in the third column the specific resources or assets that each group might provide to your ACS organization or for your specific project or goal. Is it expertise, the use of facilities or equipment, funding or in-kind donations that they might provide, or helping to advertize your project or cause? Maybe it is simply endorsement that will get you greater visibility or acceptability in the community. Maybe an organization can provide volunteers or people with certain skills. Maybe it can get you access to a larger network of organizations.

Step Four: Combine the individual lists—Provide a visual combined list by either using something like a flip chart, large posters, an overhead projector, PowerPoint software on a computer linked to a video projector, or simply by having a collated list typed up before your next meeting and handing out a copy of the combined list to everyone using the same worksheet format as Handout 4. You may want to add a column on the left to show the name of the team member who contributed each item. You may also want to strike out or combine duplicate listings. (Did two team members who listed the same organization give it the same status as strong or weak ties?)

Step Five: Analyze your lists—This must be done with the entire team looking at the same combined list and working together. Read back over the information and discuss these questions for each listing: (1) What resources do your strong ties provide to you? (2) What resources do your weak ties potentially provide to you? (3) Are there ties that you want to strengthen? If so, how would you strengthen them? (4) Are there relevant organizations that do not appear on your worksheet? Why? (5) How will you gain access to these organizations from Question 4? (6) How can you leverage your relationships to gain access to more groups and resources?

Step Six: Determine your next steps—After you have completed the analysis, make specific plans. Write down next to each organization in the last column the specific steps you will take in relating to that organization. How will you strengthen ties, build new ties, make specific requests for resources, etc.? Put the name of each member of your team assigned to complete specific steps.

Summary

Community assessment is about gathering information and then discussing what that information means. What does the information tell us about the needs, values and life patterns of the people who live in this community? What opportunities are open to Adventist Community Services in this community? What programs or strategies could we develop in this community? What internal resources and social capital can we mobilize to support the programs or strategies we might select? What are the specific, concrete and measurable goals that we believe the Holy Spirit is calling us to adopt in response to the assessment?

Clearly these questions require thoughtful prayer as well as careful analysis of data. Some believers tend to want to see a needs assessment as counter to prayer. This is clearly an unbiblical view. God wants “all your heart and all your mind” (Luke 10:27) involved in His mission. Research and analysis use the “mind” that God created and prayer uses the “heart” that God created toward the same end: to hear the call of the Holy Spirit, to see the missional vision that God has for you and your team in the community where you are.

More Tools: (Slide 39) The book Understanding Your Community provides many more tools both for information-gathering and for analysis. Versions of this book have been developed for the United States, the Phillippines and Russia. If your conference or union would like to develop a version for your nation, contact the Center for Metropolitan Ministry at Washington Adventist University and request the kit for translators/national editors. Only the theoretical framework needs to be translated. The other major task is to locate information appropriate to your country that is parallel to the original version and can be inserted into major sections of the book

Additional Resoruces

Bartle, Phil (2007). Community Worker Handbooks. Self-published free of charge online at: cmp/hand/htm [In nine languages: Catala, Deutsch, English, Espanol, Francais, Ellinika, Italiano, Portugues, Romana. Three volumes: Handbook for Mobilizers, Handbook for Generating Wealth, Handbook for Monitoring.]

Bryant, M. D. and Kemp, C. F. (1977). The Church and Community Resources. St Louis, MO: Bethany Press.

Burke, S. P. et al. (2007) Kyrgystan Case Study Sourcebook: Partnership and Collaboration between Government and Civil Society Organizations. Bishkek: Counterpart Sheriktesh. Published on line at: publications/civil_society_kyrgyzstan_partnership.pdf [free download]

Chisholm, Victoria et al (2009). Crossing the Cultural Divide: Assessing the Needs of a Local Immigrant Community. Team CARE/Sociology Department, University of Maryland. Available as a free download at:

Frey, J. H. (1989). Survey Research by Telephone, Second Edition. London/New Delhi:Sage Publications.

Groverman, Verona (1994). The Group Promoter’s Resource Book: A Practical Guide to Building Rural Self-help Groups 2000 Edition. Rome: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. [Available as a free download online at: docrep/003/T1965E/t1965e00.htm Click “PDF Version” in top right-hand portion of the screen, second line from the top. Of particular relevance is Annex 2, “Participatory rural appraisal techniques.”]

Holland, Joe and Henrist, Peter (1989). Social Analysis: Linking Faith and Justice. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Kashyap, Purnima and Young, R. H. (1989). Rapid Assessment of Community Nutrition Problems. Parbhani, India/Ottawa, Canada: International Development Research Centre. Available as a free download at:

Kelly, Charles (2005). Guidelines for Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment in Disasters Version 4.4. Benfield Hazard Research Centre, University College London and CARE International. Available as a free download at: reliefweb.int/library/documents/2005/bhrc-gen-30apr.pdf

Kidd, Ross and Orza, Luisa (2008). Guide for Community Assessments on Women’s Health Care. Parliamentarians for Women’s Health.

Kiefer, C. W. (2006). Doing Health Anthropology: Research Methods for Community Assessment and Change. New York City: Springer Publishing Company.

Kretzmann, J. P. and McKnight, J. L. (1993). Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets. Chicago: ACTA Publications.

Krile, James F. (2006). Community Leadership Handbook. Minneapolis: Fieldstone Alliance Publishing Center.

Maier, Rudi and Warkentin, Randy (2007). Working With the Poor: Selected Passages from Ellen G. White on Social Responsibility. Berrien Springs, MI: Department of World Mission, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University.

Neuber, K. A. (1980). Needs Assessment: A Model for Community Planning. London/New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Okubo, Derek (2000). The Community Vision and Strategic Planning Handbook. Denver, CO: National Civic League Press. Available as a free download online at:

Sadan, Elisheva (2004). Empowerment and Community Planning. Self-published at: [A free download.]

Sahlin, Monte et al (2000). Ministries of Compassion Revised Edition. Lincoln, NE: AdventSource.

Towle, Charlotte (1987). Common Human Needs. New York City: National Association of Social Workers.

Vogt, P. W. (1999). Dictionary of Statistics and Methodology. London/New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Whittington, Ronaele (1990). Christ-centered Caring. Silver Spring, MD: North American Division Church Ministries.

Periodical Articles

Adler, P. and Kwon, S. W. (2002). “Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept,” Academy of Management Review 27:1, (January 2002), pp 17-40. Available at: csee.wvu.edu/~xinl/library/papers/social/social_capital.pdf

Ariza, L. et al (2010). “A simple method for rapid community assessment of tunglasis,” Topical Medicine and International Health 15:7 (July 2010), pp 856-864.

The journal Development in Practice is published four times a year and provides a regular source of updated material related to community needs assessment around the world. Access to all of the articles published to date as well as subscription information is available at: about-dip/about-journal

Web Sites

Fieldstone Alliance is a secular organization that provides resource materials for community organizations in a wide range of initiatives. There are a number of free articles related to community assessment that can be downloaded from their Web site:

The World Religion Database is one of the largest collections of information about religion from all nations on the globe. It draws together data from many sources and can be searched with key words such as the name of your city or nation and/or specific topics. Information is updated daily. Web site:

A civic association in British Columbia (Canada) has published an online book with many sections and chapters on community building activities of all kinds. It can be accessed at:

Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) is a strategic approach to community health improvement. This tool helps communities improve health and quality of life through community-wide strategic planning: ics/infrastructure/MAPP/index.cfm

The Community Toolbox is an Internet-based support system for building healthier communities with more than 200 sections of practical and detailed information about how to do community building, including assessment, strategic planning and related topics: [English language], [Spanish language]

Community How To Guide on Needs Assessment and Strategic Planning was prepared around the issue of underage drinking problems, but could be applied to any community need. It is published free of charge on line at: [Search internally for Community How To Guides.]

Rotary Clubs International provide a number of resource guides for community service and one of these is entitled Community Assessment Tools and it can be downloaded free of charge at: RIdocuments/en_pdf/605c_en.pdf

The International Development Research Centre has published on line Designing and Conducting Health Systems Research Projects in two volumes. This includes much that is useful in doing community assessment. Go to and search for the publication by name.

Iowa State University Extension Service provides a free, downloadable publication on line entitled Preparing for a Collaborative Community Assessment at: extension.iastate.edu/publications/CRD334.pdf

A Quantitative and Qualitative Research Guide is provided on line by Colorado State University at:

A Research Methods Knowledge Base is produced on line by Professor William M. Trochim at Cornell University at:

A PowerPoint presentation describing the qualitative and quantitative methods of research can be downloaded from the University of Wisconsin Extension Service at: uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/powerpoint/QUANQUAL.PPT

Queen Margaret College in the United Kingdom has published two research workbooks on line that can be useful in teaching Adventist Community Services workers to do community surveys. Questionnaire Design and Analysis Workbook is downloadable free of charge at tardis.ed.ac.uk/~kate/qmcweb/qcont.htm and Sampling Workbooks can be downloaded at tardis.ed.ac.uk/~kate/gmcweb/scont.htm.

The United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has also published a free, downloadable publication entitled Guide to Preparation of Questionnaires at ios/eng/evaluation/tools/outil_04e.htm and it is available in several languages.

Additional useful information to teach Adventist Community Services volunteers to do interviews in the community has been published in Conducting Key Informant Interviews by the USAID Center for Development and Information Evaluation. It can be downloaded free of charge at pdf_docs/pnabs541.pdf. The same organization has also published Using Direct Observation Techniques and it can be downloaded at pdf_docs/pnaby208.pdf.

Deakin University in Australia has published Introduction to Data Collection and Analysis at deakin.educ.au/~agoodman/sci101/index.php.

The University of Reading in the United Kingdom has a Statistical Services Centre that maintains a web site on Informative Presentation of Tables, Graphs and Statistics at rdg.ac.uk/ssc/develop/dfid/booklets/toptgs.html.

Handouts

1. Links to Local Area Demographics for Countries Around the World and “Links by Country” PDF from

2. Walking Survey/Windshield Survey Worksheet

3. Interviewing Community Leaders

4. Mapping Your Social Capital

Handout 1

Links to Local Area Demographics

The census is an operation of the national government in each country. A census or statistics agency collects and publishes the information. The most visible reports have demographics for the entire nation, but each country also publishes demographics for local areas. Today much of this information is published via web sites.

There is a web site which provides a link to local area demographics for each nation around the globe. Local communities go under different official terminology in each country, such as district, commune, shire, department, municipality, etc. Postal codes often provide the most local definition of community, especially in larger and more urbanized nations. The basic tables on this web site list the name of the country, the “Primary” local area terminology and the “Secondary” local area terminology as well as indication of whether or not “Postcode” data is also available. There are also links to “Stats” (a direct link to the statistics) and several different types of maps.

A “Primary” local area would be the larger in size if there is also a “Secondary” term listed. If a “Post” is listed under the column for “Postcode” that means that data is available for an even smaller, more localized area. Smaller countries have only a “Primary” listed because they are not large enough to need two or three levels of local community.

A few examples: In the United States the “Primary” local area is the state and the “Secondary” local area is the county, and there are “Postcode” data, called Zip Codes in that country. In Brazil the “Primary” local area is the state and the “Secondary” local area is the microregion, and there are “Postcode” data. In Kenya the “Primary” local area is the province and the “Secondary” local area is the district and there is no “Postcode” data. In India the “Primary” local area is the state and the “Secondary” local area is the district, and there are “Postcode” data.

Almost all of these listings on the tables that make up this web site are links which can be clicked and take you directly to the various kinds of information. The pages you go to will have links to even more detailed data as you drill down into the data sets indexed to .

Notes about the country or countries where you serve:

Handout 2 - Walking Survey/Windshield Survey

|Area covered | |

|Geography | |

|Characteristics | |

|Street layout | |

|Physical boundaries | |

|Identity markers | |

|Traffic flow | |

| | |

|Homes | |

|Kinds of housing | |

|Clusters of homes | |

|Appearance | |

| | |

|Residents | |

|Age group | |

|Impressions | |

|Relationships | |

| | |

© 2004, Center for Creative Ministry. Used by permission.

Handout 3

Interviewing Community Leaders

One of the most effective tools for community assessment is to interview six to 30 community leaders. There are six major categories of leaders, so an assessment must include at least one interview in each of these major categories: Business, Government, Education, Health care and social services, Media and Religion. If you have sufficient time and volunteers, the assessment would be more accurate if 12 or 18 interviews were done—two or three interviews in each major category—or as many as 30 interviews for the most comprehensive survey.

What to Say to Set Up Interviews

These civic leaders are busy people with many demands on their time. It is unrealistic to expect to talk with them unless first setting up appointment. This is a suggested script for a phone call to set up an appointment for an interview. In some cases, you will talk with an office assistant of the individual you want to interview.

I am calling on behalf of Adventist Community Services. It is conducting a community assessment to understand the realities and needs in our community. One of our first goals is to interview a number of community leaders to learn their views and suggestions.

You have been suggested as an important source of information about this community. I would like to arrange a time to interview you within the next two weeks.

Through these interviews we hope to learn from community leaders what role our organization can play to improve the community. I would be happy to send you the interview questions in advance, if you wish. Can we arrange a time to meet with you?

Basic Interview Questions

1. What are the assets/strengths in this community?

2. What are some of the most important needs in our community?

3. What could a volunteer group do that would really be helpful in meeting the needs you have list? (Go through the list one by one and get as specific as possible on suggestions for each one.)

4. Who are some of the influential leaders in the community we should interview with the same questions that I have asked you?

5. What do you know about the Seventh-day Adventist Church and/or Adventist Community Services? What is your impression of its contribution to the community in the past?

Handout 4

Mapping Your Social Capital

|Organization/Individual |Strength of Tie |Resources |Next Steps |

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Summary Analysis:

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