An introduction to the 2020 Community Social Needs Assessment was received for information during the Feb. 11City of Chestermere Committee of the Whole meeting.
“The last community social needs assessment was completed in 2011, and since then, Chestermere and the organization have undergone significant change in how the social programming is administered to improve social outcomes for residents,” said the Manager of Community Support Services Community and People, Danielle Fermin.
The goal for the 2020 Community Social Needs Assessment is to strategically set and inform resource allocation, identify local priorities and best practices in addressing the impact social issues have on residents.
The municipality uses the Social Investment Framework as a guiding allocation model where resources are distributed throughout the community.
The Social Investment Framework was created in 2017 and will be renewed this upcoming summer, as the city prepares for the 2021 call for applications.
“At inception, it was identified that there was a lack of community engagement involved in creating the allocation model. Since then, we have taken into consideration that the priorities did not truly reflect the needs of the community, and take into consideration how we execute the project,” Fermin said.
“Bringing community engagement practices into this project will provide validity of our findings and create a strong narrative for what social conditions our residents are experiencing as assets, and what are improving their quality of life, as well as amplify our understanding of what barriers are hindering their full participation in society,” she said.
Through the Social Investment Framework, the municipality can leverage the findings in the project to understand which resources and partnerships will have an impact on improving the social well-being of community members.
The City of Chestermere is partnering with HelpSeeker and Turner Strategies to assist with an integrated needs assessment and planning system framework.
“The framework will use evidence-based practices and strategies to advance the funding model,” Fermin said.
“The team of 20 staff have worked with various communities on similar issues that were identified in Chestermere, and issues that could transpire in the upcoming years,” she said.
Adding, “Those issues would look at providing a well-being assessment, strategies to reduce poverty in the community, and looking at housing and homelessness.
The 2020 Community Social Needs Assessment project has been divided into three milestones, including project design, community engagement, and reporting.
A community trend analysis will be developed, and the community social profile will target the most pressing needs in the community and help shape discussions with residents.
“The last part of the research project looks at system asset mapping, plotting out the different community resources and services throughout the community,” Fermin said.
In August 2019, the recreation, communication, planning, diversity, inclusion, and supports and services departments were engaged as the project scope of work was designed.
A community survey will be available throughout March and give the city the opportunity to dig deeper into trends and have conversations with residents and service providers on emerging issues.
“A lot of this work will be compiling the data that is collected from the research and community engagement phases into a consensus document that helps us determine our priorities, strategies, and goals,” Fermin said.
“The ideal outcome of this is to have an integrated understanding of what our immediate, long-term and short-term goals are as a municipality to help direct how we are going to be funding and designing our programs in the future,” she said.
She added, “We want to highlight the importance of community engagement as an indicator for success in this project. Ensuring that participation from as many residents and sectors into this work will help transform the relevancy and the longevity of our research findings.”
Fermin is anticipating the work for this project will occur in May.
“The combination of local stories and community data is something that we have been missing since our 2011 Community Social Needs Assessment, and this type of work will help to set the blueprint for Chestermere’s next steps in social programing, service provision, policy development, and partnerships,” Fermin said.
“We’re looking at increased integration and reallocation of our resources and looking at how we can best and effectively direct financial resources for staffing and funding in the future,” she said.
