Community Needs Survey Template

This community needs survey asks residents which local services need attention and what makes them difficult to access. Use the answers to guide a focused discussion about community priorities.

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Community Needs Survey: first question and response field, desktop preview — Community Needs Survey Preview

Community Needs Survey: first question and response field, tablet preview — Community Needs Survey Preview

A useful needs survey gives residents a clear area and planning purpose. Ask about services people have tried to use, and give them a way to identify a priority without describing private circumstances. Combine responses with other evidence before allocating resources.

When to use this community needs survey

Local organizations and public-service teams can use this questionnaire for community planning. It identifies perceived needs and access barriers rather than measuring satisfaction with every city service or collecting political preferences.

To evaluate existing municipal services more broadly, use our city services template.

7 questions for your community needs survey

Use these 7 questions as a starting point. All fields are optional; choose one answer where choices are listed. Leave an irrelevant open field blank.

Respondent introduction:
Think about services in the named area during the past six months. Share general experiences without names, exact addresses, or private case details. This survey is not an application for assistance.

How to customize your community needs survey

Define the geographic area and six-month period. Adapt service categories to the decisions you can influence. Offer offline participation and accessible wording so an online invitation does not become the only route. Do not ask for exact addresses or case histories in open comments. Before sharing widely, try the questions with a few people from the intended audience and clarify anything they interpret differently.

Printable community needs survey template

Use this printable community needs survey template at community centers and neighborhood consultation events. It includes the same questions and space to write, giving people who prefer paper or are less comfortable online another way to take part. SurveyLegend helps you offer both formats. Tell respondents where to return the completed form and who will review it. Paper answers need a separate review or manual entry process; they are not automatically added to online responses.

AI prompt for a community needs survey

Use these questions to bring residents’ priorities and access barriers into local planning.

The full prompt below specifies your community needs survey, including all 7 questions and response settings. Copy it, register for a free SurveyLegend account, and paste it into SurveyLegend’s AI survey creation tool. Review the result and add your organization’s details before sharing.

Create a community needs survey in SurveyLegend using the exact questionnaire below.

Purpose: Use these questions to bring residents’ priorities and access barriers into local planning.

Creator setup before sharing:
Define local area, six-month period, planning decision, and eligible respondent group. No benefits application, political profiling, or representative-sample claim.

Requirements:
- Include exactly 7 fields in the order shown. Preserve wording, field types, choice order, and optional settings verbatim.
- Show every field. Single choice means one selection. Preserve instructions for irrelevant fields; do not invent branching.
- Do not add questions, answers, scores, outcome predictions, certifications, or promises of anonymity.
- Do not invent organization details, dates, offer prices, a concept card, a job criterion, or other required context. Ask the creator for missing setup information before the survey is shared.
- This prompt creates a draft questionnaire. It does not process transactions, change accounts, issue tickets, publish testimonials, or make employment decisions.
- If an exact field or setting is unavailable, explain the limitation separately rather than silently changing it.

Respondent introduction:
Think about services in the named area during the past six months. Share general experiences without names, exact addresses, or private case details. This survey is not an application for assistance.

Exact questionnaire:

1. What is your connection to this area?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Live here
- Work here
- Study here
- Regularly use services here
- Another connection
- Prefer not to say
Required: No
Display rule: Always

2. Which service area most needs attention?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Transportation
- Housing support
- Education or learning
- Community activities
- Health service access
- Another area
- Not sure
Required: No
Display rule: Always

3. During the past six months, did you try to use a service in that area?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Yes
- No
- Not sure
- Prefer not to say
Required: No
Display rule: Always

4. What was the main barrier, if any?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Cost
- Travel or location
- Opening hours
- Unclear information
- Waiting or limited availability
- Another barrier
- No barrier
- Did not try
Required: No
Display rule: Always

5. How clear is information about where to get local help?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Very unclear
- Somewhat unclear
- Neither clear nor unclear
- Somewhat clear
- Very clear
- Have not looked
Required: No
Display rule: Always

6. What practical change would make the greatest difference?
Field type: Long text
Answer choices: none; respondent enters their own text.
Required: No
Display rule: Always

7. What local service or resource is already working well?
Field type: Long text
Answer choices: none; respondent enters their own text.
Required: No
Display rule: Always

Compare every field with this specification before finishing. Report differences separately. Ask the creator to review the draft and required context before sharing. Do not publish automatically.

Use prompt directly in SurveyLegend

Create a free account, then paste the copied prompt into SurveyLegend.

Already have an account? Sign in to create your community needs survey.

How to use the answers

Review priority services alongside reported access barriers. Distinguish an unavailable service from one people cannot reach or understand. Report who was invited and how responses were collected; a voluntary survey is not automatically representative of the whole community. Explain the next planning step without promising funding.

Does this represent the whole community?

Not automatically. Describe recruitment and participation, and consider which groups may be missing before drawing conclusions.

Can residents request individual assistance?

This version is for planning feedback. Provide the actual service contact route separately for individual help.

How is this different from city satisfaction feedback?

It focuses on priorities and barriers to accessing services, rather than overall satisfaction with municipal performance.

Political and Public Opinion Survey Templates

Community Needs Survey Template

When to use this community needs survey

7 questions for your community needs survey

A little feedback. A clearer picture.