For social service providers, needs assessment is not just a stage of collecting information. It is the basis for understanding which services people need, who needs them, in what format and to what extent.

After all, even a well-organised social service will not be effective if it does not meet the real need of a person or community.

Where to start planning

Where should social service planning begin? With a simple question: «What do people in this community really need?» To find the answer, it is important to combine different sources of information and the experience of those who work directly in the social protection system.

Needs assessment should involve community representatives, social managers and social sector professionals, providers and recipients of social services, representatives of healthcare and education, civic and charitable organisations, researchers, and other specialists.

Why providers' voices matter

Social service providers have special practical knowledge of people's needs. Every day they see what difficulties service recipients face, what barriers prevent them from getting help, which services are missing, and where there are gaps in the support system.

That is why providers' voices must be taken into account when social services in communities are designed, planned, and reviewed.

What a quality needs assessment makes possible

A quality needs assessment makes it possible to:

  • plan services according to the real needs of the population;
  • identify needs that remain overlooked;
  • use community resources more effectively;
  • develop services where and in the format in which they are truly needed;
  • strengthen cooperation between the community, providers, and other participants in the system.

Needs assessment is a bridge between data and a real social service. The more precisely we understand the needs of people and communities, the more opportunities there are to build a social service system that responds to real-life situations.

The analytical report (in Ukrainian) is available here: https://cms.coalitionssp.com.ua/uploads/Analitichnij_zvit_BF_Karitas_Kiyiv_ddf2c65786.pdf

ℹ️ This publication is part of the information and advocacy campaign «No quality services without knowing real needs», implemented by the «Caritas-Kyiv» Charitable Foundation within the project «Seeing the Invisible: advocating a systemic approach to assessing social service needs in Kyiv Oblast communities».