Community needs & civic

Community needs assessment survey template

Priorities, service gaps, barriers and satisfaction with local services, with demographics for weighting.

6 questions · about 5 minutes to complete · free on every plan

Free account required. The template is copied into your workspace; edit anything before publishing.

When to use it: Before strategic planning or a funding bid.
Who it is for: Residents of the area you serve.

How to use this template

Offer paper and phone options alongside the online link.
Ask priorities as a ranking so trade-offs are explicit.
Report back publicly.

Questions in the community needs assessment template

1. Rank the issues that matter most in your community
ranking · Housing, Jobs and income, Health services, Education and childcare, Transport, Safety, Food access, Mental wellbeing support
2. Which services have you or your household needed in the last year but could not get?
multi choice · Housing support, Food assistance, Healthcare, Childcare, Job training, Legal advice, Transport, None of these
3. What stops people getting help?
multi choice · Do not know what exists, Cost, Transport, Opening hours, Language, Eligibility rules, Stigma, Other
4. How satisfied are you with local services overall?
rating
5. Which age group are you in?
single choice · Under 18, 18–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65 or over, Prefer not to say
6. What is the one change that would most improve life here?
open text

What the results look like

IllustrativeSynthetic sample of 120 responses generated for this preview, not real survey data. Your results page shows the same charts for your own responses.

1.Rank the issues that matter most in your community

120 answered

1Education and childcareavg rank 2.73 · ranked first by 37%
2Health servicesavg rank 2.98 · ranked first by 32%
3Safetyavg rank 3.43 · ranked first by 12%
4Transportavg rank 3.79 · ranked first by 8%
5Jobs and incomeavg rank 3.99 · ranked first by 13%
6Food accessavg rank 4.79 · ranked first by 0%
7Mental wellbeing supportavg rank 6.77 · ranked first by 0%
8Housingavg rank 7.53 · ranked first by 0%

2.Which services have you or your household needed in the last year but could not get?

114 answered

Answer distribution
Answer	Count	Percent
Housing support	75	66%
Food assistance	17	15%
Healthcare	68	60%
Childcare	70	61%
Job training	25	22%
Legal advice	93	82%
Transport	26	23%
None of these	0	0%

3.What stops people getting help?

116 answered

Answer distribution
Answer	Count	Percent
Do not know what exists	34	29%
Cost	24	21%
Transport	62	53%
Opening hours	21	18%
Language	56	48%
Eligibility rules	71	61%
Stigma	15	13%
Other	25	22%

4.How satisfied are you with local services overall?

120 answered

Average 3.8

Answer distribution
Answer	Count	Percent
1	7	6%
2	17	14%
3	15	13%
4	35	29%
5	46	38%

How to read these questions

ranking: Use the average rank and the share ranking each option first. An option can rarely be first but consistently second.
multi choice: Percentages add up to more than 100% because people can pick several. Compare options by share of respondents, not share of picks.
rating: Report the mean and the top-two-box share (the two highest points). Top-two-box is easier to explain and less sensitive to a few extreme answers.

Frequently asked questions

How do I reach a representative sample of a community?

Combine channels (online, paper at community venues, phone), and compare respondent demographics with census data to spot gaps.

How long does the community needs assessment survey take to complete?

About 5 minutes: 6 questions, most of them single-tap. Every question can be edited, removed or reordered in the builder before you publish.

Is this template free to use?

Yes. Every template is included on the Free plan. Sign up, click Use this template, and it is copied into your workspace where you can edit it, add your logo and share it by link, email or embed.