Community Development: Issues and Needs Prioritization
This document articulates the six key steps in the ‘Issues and Needs Prioritization‘ process; a critical process for community planning and development.
The ‘Issues and Needs Prioritization’ process is the ranking of community development needs in order of importance. It is a simple way of improving citizens’ participation in decision making. On one hand, the output of the process serves as a tool for citizen-state engagement. The highly participatory process on the other hand ensures representation of the needs of all groups, including the vulnerable.
The ranking of the community’s priorities must be mutually agreed by all groups in order to ensure that the focus is on issues that need the most urgent attention – in accordance with the perceived importance to the whole community. Therefore, community leaders facilitate the process to ensure that there are safe spaces for all community groups to dialogue, agree and prioritise their needs.
It is a critical part of the Community Charter process, an empowering process used across Christian Aid Nigeria’s programmes.
