The Five Ws of Community Assessment Surveys, an Interview with My Linh Nguyen

My Linh Nguyen shares her insights on the value of stakeholder input in community needs assessments and how this data can be used to understand family, staff, and community needs. Ms. Nguyen is a consultant with Foundations for Families, specializing in community needs assessments, data research, and grant writing.What is your professional background?I first joined Head Start as a senior writer/editor for a Federal contractor supporting the OHS Central Office. From there, I joined Teaching Strategies, the makers of the Creative Curriculum, where I wrote and produced online professional development courses, before moving to the University of Maryland where I helped develop a statewide preschool curriculum. Since joining Foundations for Families in 2021, I have focused largely on community assessment with a special emphasis on stakeholder surveys. I have a master’s degree in Journalism and an MBA.Why should programs include surveys as part of their community assessment?Section 1302.11 of the Head Start Program Performance Standards requires that as part of their community assessment, programs collect data that describes community strengths, needs, and resources; challenges and barriers; typical work, school, and training schedules of parents; and gaps in community resources. These are areas that are not easily identified in an online data search. Instead, surveys are the best tools to identify these areas of need.What should you consider when developing community assessment surveys?Think about your survey design as a framework of five Ws: Who, Why, What, When, and How.Who will we survey? Typically for community assessments, you will want to survey enrolled families, staff, and community providers. Community providers include public and private organizations that serve low-income families in your community.Why should we conduct surveys? Surveys are the most local level of data collection you can get for a community assessment. Surveying the three stakeholder groups we recommend allows you to compare perspectives of families, staff, and community providers to see where their views and experiences align and where they differ.What do we want to know? Surveys enable you to ask specific questions about the gaps, challenges, and barriers in your community that you otherwise would not be able to find from your typical data gathering. They are also a chance for you to ask, “What are we doing well?” Surveys are not the same as your Self-Assessment or PIR.When should we conduct the surveys? It is best to schedule your survey during the program year. For best results, launch at the start or middle of the week. Avoid launching on Fridays or during holiday breaks/summer, when families and staff are away from the program. Typically, you will want to allow two weeks for stakeholders to complete the surveys.How should we conduct the surveys? It depends on your organizational culture. Staff and community providers can usually respond to online surveys. For families, if most have access to mobile devices, then online surveys could work. But if you have historically used paper communications with families, then consider paper surveys. Also consider whether you will need to provide the surveys in languages beyond English.What are some dos and don’ts of surveys?To be statistically reliable, that is, for you to have confidence that the responses are representative of families and staff, you will need at least 30% of each group to respond.Dos: Start with getting staff buy-in. Share with staff, especially classroom staff, the purpose of the surveys so they can encourage families to complete the survey. Remove any logistical barriers by providing iPads in the classrooms for staff and families to use and displaying QR codes for staff and families to scan on their devices. If possible, offer incentives for those who complete the survey.Don’ts: Survey fatigue is a big reason why people do not respond to surveys. Avoid this by limiting the survey to no more than 10 minutes to complete. Avoid surveying staff and families too often throughout the year. Keep it simple! Ensure respondents recognize themselves in the questions and use words they are familiar with. Ensure anonymity so respondents are comfortable to answer truthfully. Ask questions that are short and direct. Provide closed-ended questions that allow respondents to select from a list, but also offer a few open-ended options for those who want to write in their own responses.What do we do with the results we collect?Survey analysis is the last step of the survey process. When looking at the results, it is helpful to compare responses from one survey with another survey to see how they align and differ. How do the survey responses validate what you already know? What surprises did you uncover? How do the views and experiences of your families, staff, and community providers compare to the data you gathered at the county or state level? Finally, how will you use these findings to inform your program design and service delivery?We encourage you to explore Foundations for Families’ Consulting Services. If your program needs assistance conducting or updating its community assessment, please be in touch. Our team of consultants will work with your program to determine a process, timeline, and approach that is the best fit for your needs.Thank you.Thank you for reading our blog. We encourage you to use our blog posts for thought, integration, and sharing. 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