When to engage
When assessing community needs, facilities or service gaps, building an evidence base, or interpreting feedback and data you have already collected.
Explore a specific brief
Find the assessment or engagement support closest to your decision.
How the work is approached
The scope is tailored to your decision, timeframe, community and available evidence.
Social planning, community needs assessment, social infrastructure assessment, qualitative research, service mapping, survey analysis and reporting.
- Step 01
Frame the planning question
Define the geography, planning horizon and decisions required. Review relevant plans and organisational responsibilities.
- Step 02
Build the evidence base
Bring demographic and service information, relevant research, facility provision and agreed community perspectives together. Qualitative research can explore experiences that existing data does not explain. Record limitations and any further technical inputs needed.
- Step 03
Assess needs and develop priorities
Explore local strengths, unmet needs, facilities, service gaps and access barriers. Test options with staff and relevant partners, distinguishing aspirations from funded commitments.
- Step 04
Connect priorities with delivery
Set out actions, responsibilities, dependencies and review measures that fit the organisation’s capacity.
Possible outputs
- Community profile, evidence review and research findings
- Analysis of survey responses, interviews and submissions
- Needs and service-gap analysis, clear findings and planning recommendations
- Community profile and evidence review
- Qualitative findings or research synthesis
- Needs, facilities, service and access analysis
- Planning priorities, options and implementation recommendations
Scope, outputs, responsibilities, timing and fees are agreed before work begins.
Relevant experience
Examples include work from Alisha Abate’s previous Council roles and independent practice. Each account explains the contribution and context.
- Council planning with integrated health and wellbeing
Connected community wellbeing priorities with integrated Council planning.
- Applied research for policy, services and places
Brought research and evidence into policy, service and place questions.
- Housing and homelessness: from strategy to coordinated action
Connected housing evidence and community experience with strategy and coordinated action.
Questions to help scope your brief
Do we need a needs assessment, an infrastructure assessment or a social plan?
Start with the decision. A needs assessment explores community strengths, unmet needs and priorities. An infrastructure assessment focuses on whether facilities and services can respond to those needs. A social plan connects evidence and agreed priorities with actions, responsibilities and review. A brief may combine these tasks, but should identify the outputs required from each.
Can existing research and engagement be used?
Yes. Begin with relevant plans, demographic profiles, service information and previous engagement. Check when and how each source was produced, its geographic coverage and whose experiences are missing. Additional research should address an identified gap rather than repeat work that already answers the question.
What should we provide before discussing a proposal?
Share the decision to be informed, geographic area or population, existing evidence, deadline, available budget and people responsible for reviewing the work. Identify any data-access limits. The scope can then distinguish essential outputs from optional research, engagement or specialist technical inputs.
For a general Australian practice reference, see the Australian Institute of Family Studies needs-assessment guide. The project proposal confirms the approach appropriate to your organisation.
Related support and resources
Practical articles for your brief
Council planning, community wellbeing, housing, services, social infrastructure and place-based projects.
Community needs assessment brief template