COMMUNITY

PLANNING
REPORTERS;
Marbie Molejon
Jerry Flores
 Community Research
Refresher
Research is the soul that binds
theory into practice. The
understanding of theory is vital in
diving deep into the study of the
community.
 Community Research Tools
Key Informant Interviews- Conducted by
engaging people through a prepared set of
questions that highlight the necessary information
to be acquired to answer the research question.
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)- Compared to
interviews, FGDs need more participation by
people from specific groups that share common
agenda or coming from the same background to
crowdsource much-needed information as
Participatory Observation/Field Research- A data-
gathering method wherein the researcher embeds
himself/herself with his or her subjects for a specified
length of time to observe and gather data for research
use.
Sampling/Surveys- Gathering of data samples through
the use of a set of questionaires to be distributed to a
specific or nonspecific subset of the population.
Secondary Data Analysis- The use of documents to
gather data, such as related studies, policy notes, news,
journals, and books in articulating and supporting the
ideas within a topic being studied.
 Kinds of Research
Exploratory Research- This is a kind of research
where the study is aimed at exploring the different
variables of a topic where little or no prior work
was done on the matter, and therefore, substantial
time will be needed to fully incorporate concepts,
factors, and variables.
Descriptive Research- This merely describes the
topic at hand without digging deeper into the
concepts and theories underlying it.
Explanatory Research- This is focused on
identifying conceptual and ideological links
Policy Research- This strictly looks into secondary
data analysis and documents that surround the
policy regarding agenda, effects, impact, and other
correlated and casual factors.
 Community Needs Assessment
Community needs assessment is aimed at gathering
accurate information representative of the needs of a
community. Being a specific tool, community needs
assessment is done in three phases: pre-assessment,
assessment, and action plan, which are used to
identify the gaps within the community and why they are
not attained.
Community researchers split the idea of community
needs assessment into two very distinct categories:
extensive needs and intensive needs.
Extensive needs- Pinpoint a broad
perspective that deals with current
conditions of the community and its
operations and results.
Intensive needs- Deals with the
ranking of priorities derived from
the extensive needs.
SWOT analysis, force field analysis, and
FGDs are important tools in drawing the
picture/profile of the community and
fulfilling the gaps between its needs and
wants and helping project planners plan
interventions in current social issues.
 SWOT Analysis
Strengths- What are the standout
characteristics of your community in
political, economic, sociocultural,
technological, and environmental aspects?
Weaknesses- What does your community
lack or need in the status qou? It may
include facets of your community that you
think need to be addressed or improved.
Opportunities- Reviewing the different actors, you
may include the different aspects of your
community that are ripe for intervention and aid to
solve and counter the weaknesses you have
indicated.
Threats- Understand the various threats that may
jeopardize your community. You may include broad
concerns such as crime or poverty, or be more
specific by mentioning actors or other issues that
may threaten your community.
 COMMUNITY
OPERATIONALIZATION
Resource Mobilization and Social
Action
A community is composed of a lot of variables and it may
seem too complex and hard to understand for a student
studying the community. Taking notes from social
movements, resource mobilization is one of the pillars of
community understanding. Mobilization has two major
components that support and create movements; people
and resources. Simply put resource mobilization is the
ability of the movement and its supporters to mobilize
people and resources.
 Specific Plan of Action (SPOA)
Projects- Specific programs or initiatives that you
are going to implement. It can be one specific
project or a series of activities toward one goal of
solving a major problem.
Time Frame- How long will you be implementing
the project? Cite specific timelines.
Specific Budget Breakdown- Allocate a budget
for your project or how much you will need and
have a specific breakdown with justification on
cost.
Networks- Who will you tap to make your project a
After implementing the project, it is
necessary for community leaders to evaluate
the impact of the project to the community.
Here, we will use the project impact
evaluation matrix to plot out the efficacy of
the project relative to the community.
 Project Impact Evaluation
Input- These are the resources used and tapped to carry out
the community project (e.g., money, time).
Output- These are the projects implemented with the use of
the resources tapped.
Outcome- These are the benefits your stakeholders have
gained from the project.
Impact- These are the long-term benefits of the initiative.
Recommendations- After assessing the project, recommend
what specific action can be taken to ensure that it will reach
its full impact for its stakeholders. You may use an existing
project or create your own.
ARIGATO!