Hosted on July 27, 2023, the training was delivered by Dr. Mary Bunn, PhD, LCSW; Ramsha Sohail, MPhil; and, Dr. Karin Wachter, PhD, MEd.
A rapid community assessment (RCA) is an approach for understanding the needs and problems within a given community in a short period of time. RCAs help collect community insights and views on a certain issue (for example, public health, food and water insecurity, domestic violence, or cultural considerations) and calculate the major needs of the target community. This assessment can include reviewing available data and using methods such as interviews, listening sessions, observations, questionnaires, and surveys.
This webinar will provide an overview of rapid community assessments and how they can be used by refugee service organizations to inform service delivery for refugees and other newcomers. Speakers will share details on how to prepare for an RCA and will review best-practice approaches for conducting them. They will also provide examples from the field and discuss how RCAs can be applied in practice.
After participating in this 75-minute session, you will be able to:
- Describe what a rapid community assessment is and why to conduct one;
- Describe how to prepare for a rapid community assessment and the different data collection approaches that can be used; Recognize common ethical considerations when conducting rapid community assessments;
- and Name at least one practical application of rapid community assessments.
