HUD Archives: Community Needs Assessment Initiative

The Office of Field Policy and Management (FPM) supports HUD's focus on place-based activities by administering Community Needs Assessments (CNA). The assessments are the cornerstone of FPM's long-term, place-based strategy. CNAs provide the forum to solve locally identified issues and locally driven community goals, focus resources on issue resolution and provide a venue for increased collaboration across HUD's programs with other federal agencies and with local partners to deploy resources and expertise.

The assessment identifies and seeks remedies for optimizing collaboration and consensus between stakeholders; identifying unspent or poorly spent federal funds; and leveraging and aligning federal resources with those being provided in the community such as local, state, nonprofit, philanthropic and private investments. Using this tool, field staff may also identify and communicate to Headquarters barriers to federal support for communities.

In addition to HUD, other federal agencies serving that community/region are invited by the HUD Regional Administrator to participate in the CNA process, including community visit(s). Early formation of an inter- and intra-agency field working group is an integral component of the CNA process.

To date, FPM is conducting CNAs in 85 communities throughout the country; at least one in every field office.

Community Needs Assessments

• Overview of Community Needs Assessment Initiative and Intended Outcomes
• Community locations with contact information
• FY16 Community Needs Assessment location map
• Community Needs Assessment Highlights

Other Place-Based Program Initiatives

• Choice Neighborhoods (www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/ph/cn)
• ConnectHome (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/connect-home.html)
• Mayors Challenge (www.usich.gov/solutions/collaborative-leadership/mayors-challenge)
• Promise Zones (www.hudexchange.info/programs/promise-zones/promise-zones-overview/")
• Strong Cites, Strong Communities (SC2) (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/SC2/home.html)
• Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) (www.hudexchange.info/programs/sci/)

Highlights

• Join our mailing list (www.hudexchange.info/mailinglist) - stay informed about funding and technical assistance opportunities

More From HUD

• Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities (www.hudexchange.info/programs/sci/)
• Community Challenge Planning Grant Program (www.hud.gov/hudprograms/sci)
• Community Development Marketplace (www.hudexchange.info/resource/4479/promise-zones-community-development-marketplace/)
• Sustainable Communities Resource Library (http://www.hudexchange.info/programs/sci/resources/)

Related Information

• National Resource Network (www.nationalresourcenetwork.org/en/home)
• U.S. Census Bureau data (www.census.gov/en.html)
• Partnership for Sustainable Communities (www.sustainablecommunities.gov/)