Basic Community Needs Assessment Training

Learning Outcomes

• Apply principles of community engagement to identify key stakeholders and establish rapport.
• Design a basic data collection tool (e.g., survey or interview guide) to gather community needs information.
• Implement a systematic data collection process using participatory methods.
• Analyze collected data to identify priority needs and underlying causes.
• Evaluate findings against community resources and existing services to identify gaps.
• Compile a basic community needs assessment report with actionable recommendations.

Target Audience

This course is designed for community development workers, NGO staff, local government officials, and social workers who need to assess community needs as part of their professional responsibilities.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment

Course Outline

Practicals

Overview

Learners apply theoretical knowledge through hands-on activities, including designing data collection tools, conducting mock fieldwork, analysing real or simulated data, and presenting findings. These practicals build confidence and competence in executing a community needs assessment.

Practical Activities

• Practical 1: Survey Design and Pilot Testing — Learners design a short survey questionnaire on a given community issue, then pilot it with peers to identify and fix flaws. (6h)
• Practical 2: Conducting Focus Group and Interview — In small groups, learners plan and conduct a mock focus group discussion and a key informant interview, then transcribe and code the data. (8h)
• Practical 3: Data Analysis and Asset Mapping — Learners analyse a provided dataset (both quantitative and qualitative) to identify needs and assets, then create an asset map. (8h)
• Practical 4: Report Writing and Presentation — Learners compile a mini needs assessment report and present key findings and recommendations to the class for feedback. (6h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total

Component	Out of	Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored)	100%	30%
Daily Average (multiple choice)	100%	20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice)	100%	50%
Final Total	—	100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

How it works

• Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
• Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
• You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
• If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.

Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates	Discount
5	3% off
10	6% off
15	9% off
20	12% off
25	15% off
30	18% off
50	30% off
75	35% off
100	40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.