Step 6. Use Your Findings

Once the needs assessment report is written, highlighting all the things you have learned about your community, you need to use this knowledge to take action. Take what you have learned to set your initiative’s goals and objectives for the grant. Use the findings to point yourself in the right direction for developing, refining, and implementing your overall program plan.

You can also—

• Post findings on your Web site to educate the field.
• Present findings at meetings, workshops, seminars, and conferences.
• Communicate key findings in a brochure, fact sheet, or poster.

All of these efforts will help you get the word out about your project, the needs of victims in your area, what is being done, and what yet needs to be done to combat the problem.

Additionally, your needs assessment findings can serve as baseline data for your program evaluation. Consult the Guide to Performance Measurement and Program Evaluation to learn more about using your needs assessment data to evaluate your program.