United Way of Greater St. Louis

2019 Comprehensive Community Needs Assessment

United Way of Greater St. Louis

Project Date
Sep 2018 – Oct 2019

Type of Evaluation
Needs Assessment

Setting
Community-based, Foundation

Overview

The United Way of Greater St. Louis commissioned a comprehensive Community Needs Assessment in the St. Louis region to identify and prioritize needs across its 16-county region within its five key impact area.

The Evaluation Center partnered with the United Way of Greater St. Louis and the other four institutions to design and implement the 2019 Community Needs Assessment. The other partners included University of Missouri–St. Louis’ Community Innovation and Action Center; USI with InvestSTL, Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis, and WePower; Mutare Network.

Project Description

Background

United Way commissioned a comprehensive Community Needs Assessment in the St. Louis region to answer the following question: Within United Way’s 5 impact areas and across its 16-county service region, what services and resources are most needed? The impact areas were:

  • Establish financial stability
  • Foster learning
  • Improve health
  • Provide food & shelter
  • Strengthen communities

The Community Needs Assessment served to gain a deeper understanding of the prevalent, critical and emerging issues local people face and the services and resources the community needs to succeed. The Evaluation Center led the secondary quantitative data component, the triangulation of the qualitative and quantitative data sources, and the county prioritization of need process.

Evaluation Center Activities

  • Collected, managed and analyzed existing and publicly-available quantitative data.
  • Designed and facilitated the process to identify the most prevalent needs.
  • Designed and implemented a two-step systematic process to identify and prioritize the needs within each county.

Our Products

  • County-level data profiles, including prioritized needs
  • Quantitative data management and analysis protocols
  • Final report

Project Funder

United Way of Greater St. Louis

Contact Person
Meihsi Chiang, MSW

Meihsi Chiang, MSW

Interim Associate Director