In 2009 and 2010, Utah Foundation worked as a consultant to the United Way of Salt Lake (UWSL) to assist with its Priority Area and Capacity Assessment Process. This work led to the publication by UWSL of this Community Assessment document which identifies and measures critical community needs in education, income, health, and basic needs. The assessment also helps UWSL focus its work in these critical areas to create community-level change.
UWSL’s introduction to this document states:
In order to identify and measure the challenges around which our work is focused, UWSL conducts a community needs assessment every three years to determine the most significant challenges facing individuals and families. Our past research, and that of others, has repeatedly identified the areas of education, income, and health as the core building blocks that, together, contribute to a good life. UWSL has focused this year’s assessment on these specific areas. This research also includes information about how our communities provide basic needs services, and because of the rapidly changing demographics in our state, it also considers the unique challenges facing immigrants and refugees.
UWSL retained the Utah Foundation and Dan Jones & Associates to conduct independent research to obtain accurate, reliable, and unbiased data on the demographic, social, and economic conditions in its four county service area. Data was collected on nearly 300 measures of community well-being related to education, income, health, and basic needs. Focus groups were conducted and survey data was also gathered from low-income individuals, issue experts and UWSL stakeholders and donors.
Read this Community Assessment
Detailed data reports that helped to form this assessment:
- Best Practice Research (8/24/2010)
- Best Practice Research – Education Overview (8/11/2010)
- Assessment Results Summary (4/2/2010)
- Affected Populations Report – Online Survey (4/2/2010)
- Affected Populations Report – Focus Group and Paper Survey (4/2/2010)
- Capacity Assessment Results (3/29/2010)
Also see our May 2010 interim summary of the process that describes our methodologies for each phase of this major project.