Community Needs Assessment for North Philadelphia Pennsylvania

PART 3 – ISSUE PRIORIZITATION
The last step in the needs assessment process is the prioritization of the issues to give
the agency an idea of which area to focus on first. All of the issues are important and
have an effect on poverty and the community. By prioritizing issues, an agency with
limited time and resources can determine which issue to address, whether addressing
one issue more comprehensively may help to solve other issues, and whether an
agency should address an issue or let it be addressed by others. After prioritizing
issues, the agency can then move on to determine goals, objectives and action steps
for their strategic plan. Finally, prioritization can help the agency focus on areas for
new funding, trying new strategies, developing more partnerships, integrating services
and creating change.
Prioritization questions
One way to begin the process is to hold a general conversation around questions
relative to each issue area.
Prioritization tools
1. What has been done in the past to address this issue?
2. Why should we be interested in this issue?
3. What can be done to address this issue?
4. Who (what agency, group, organization) should address this issue?
Can the agency address the issue alone, who should partner with the
agency to address the issue, who in the agency should address the
issue?
5. Do we have control over this issue? Do we have control over an aspect
of this issue? Control does not mean dominance. In this context it
means the agency can actually effect change regarding the issue. For
instance – can the agency create the jobs in the community, or can it
train the potential employees for jobs that are created by others?
6. Do we have the capabilities (skills, funding, and knowledge) to address
this issue? Do we have to spend time and resources learning new
skills or programs to help address the issue?
7. What programs do we currently have that can help address this issue?
8. What might we change in our way of doing business that could help
address the issue?
9. If this is an important issue and we do not have the capabilities to
address the issue, who can we partner with to help create the change
and address the issue?
There are various tools that can be used to help in the prioritization of issues.
Through the analysis process a listing of issues more detailed than the general
issue areas might have emerged (for instance, instead of addressing the broad area
of housing, the issue may actually be the rising number of foreclosed houses in a
neighborhood or community). Prioritization tools help in reducing the large listing of
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