Needs assessment template: ask your community what it needs

Before you plan a programme, ask the people it is for. A needs assessment asks what matters, what gets in the way and what would help. I would rather learn this from a form than guess in a meeting.

Who should answer it?

Residents, parents, local business owners and service workers. Share the link through your newsletter, groups and partner organisations. People can fill it in, or hand it to their AI, which might ask: "What are the biggest needs near you?" Then "What gets in the way of getting help?" Then "What one change would help most?" It shows the answers and sends only after a yes. See agent-fillable forms.

What does it ask, and why?

Group and area show who answered. A pick-up-to-three list of needs makes people choose instead of listing everything. Two ratings show how easy help is to find. A barriers list shows what to fix first. One open box collects ideas, and a short list lets people offer help.

What do I do with the results?

Count needs and barriers in the CSV and report the top ones with the number who chose them. Read the ideas for patterns. See forms for nonprofits. Recruit people who offered time with a volunteer application form, and ask local firms for support with a sponsorship request form.

Questions

How do I make sure I hear from every part of the community?

Keep the group and area questions, then compare who answered with who lives nearby. If a group is missing, share the link there and read the new rows.

Can I add demographic questions?

Yes, but keep them short and optional. Ask only what you will report, and tell people why you ask.

Is the survey anonymous?

There is no name question, and email is optional. The form cannot promise anonymity, so tell people what you will do with the answers and who reads them.

Or paste the JSON

Give this to your AI. It needs the AI Form API MCP server or an API key. It makes the form and sends you the link.

text

Create this form with the AI Form API create_form tool (or POST https://aiformapi.com/v1/forms with my API key). Then reply with the public_url.

{
  "title": "What does our community need?",
  "description": "Your view helps us plan services that fit real life. There are no wrong answers, and you can skip anything you prefer not to answer.",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "respondent_group",
      "label": "Which best describes you?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "required": true,
      "options": [
        "Resident",
        "Parent or carer",
        "Local business owner",
        "Service worker",
        "Volunteer",
        "Other"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "area_or_neighbourhood",
      "label": "Your neighbourhood or area",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "top_needs",
      "label": "What are the biggest needs near you?",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "required": true,
      "help": "Pick up to three.",
      "options": [
        "Food",
        "Housing",
        "Jobs and skills",
        "Childcare",
        "Transport",
        "Mental wellbeing",
        "Health services",
        "Safe spaces",
        "Language support",
        "Digital access",
        "Support for older people"
      ],
      "max": 3
    },
    {
      "id": "matters_most_now",
      "label": "In a few words, what matters most right now?",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 250
    },
    {
      "id": "help_is_easy_to_find",
      "label": "It is easy to find help near me",
      "type": "rating",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 5
    },
    {
      "id": "services_meet_needs",
      "label": "Local services meet my needs",
      "type": "rating",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 5
    },
    {
      "id": "barriers_to_help",
      "label": "What gets in the way of getting help?",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "options": [
        "Cost",
        "Transport",
        "Opening hours",
        "Not knowing where to go",
        "Language",
        "Worry about stigma",
        "Long waiting lists",
        "Nothing gets in the way"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "used_our_services",
      "label": "Have you used our services before?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "Yes",
        "No",
        "Not sure"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "one_change",
      "label": "What one change would help most?",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 1000
    },
    {
      "id": "ways_to_help",
      "label": "How might you help?",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "options": [
        "Share ideas",
        "Volunteer",
        "Spread the word",
        "Come to a meeting"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "news_email",
      "label": "Email, only if you want to hear about next steps",
      "type": "email"
    },
    {
      "id": "summary_use_ok",
      "label": "I understand my answers help plan services and are reported as a summary",
      "type": "checkbox",
      "required": true
    }
  ]
}

Or call the API

bash

curl -X POST https://aiformapi.com/v1/forms \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIFORMAPI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title":"What does our community need?","description":"Your view helps us plan services that fit real life. There are no wrong answers, and you can skip anything you prefer not to answer.","fields":[{"id":"respondent_group","label":"Which best describes you?","type":"single_choice","required":true,"options":["Resident","Parent or carer","Local business owner","Service worker","Volunteer","Other"]},{"id":"area_or_neighbourhood","label":"Your neighbourhood or area","type":"short_text","max_length":150},{"id":"top_needs","label":"What are the biggest needs near you?","type":"multi_choice","required":true,"help":"Pick up to three.","options":["Food","Housing","Jobs and skills","Childcare","Transport","Mental wellbeing","Health services","Safe spaces","Language support","Digital access","Support for older people"],"max":3},{"id":"matters_most_now","label":"In a few words, what matters most right now?","type":"short_text","max_length":250},{"id":"help_is_easy_to_find","label":"It is easy to find help near me","type":"rating","min":1,"max":5},{"id":"services_meet_needs","label":"Local services meet my needs","type":"rating","min":1,"max":5},{"id":"barriers_to_help","label":"What gets in the way of getting help?","type":"multi_choice","options":["Cost","Transport","Opening hours","Not knowing where to go","Language","Worry about stigma","Long waiting lists","Nothing gets in the way"]},{"id":"used_our_services","label":"Have you used our services before?","type":"single_choice","options":["Yes","No","Not sure"]},{"id":"one_change","label":"What one change would help most?","type":"long_text","max_length":1000},{"id":"ways_to_help","label":"How might you help?","type":"multi_choice","options":["Share ideas","Volunteer","Spread the word","Come to a meeting"]},{"id":"news_email","label":"Email, only if you want to hear about next steps","type":"email"},{"id":"summary_use_ok","label":"I understand my answers help plan services and are reported as a summary","type":"checkbox","required":true}]}'

JSON definition

json

{
  "title": "What does our community need?",
  "description": "Your view helps us plan services that fit real life. There are no wrong answers, and you can skip anything you prefer not to answer.",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "respondent_group",
      "label": "Which best describes you?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "required": true,
      "options": [
        "Resident",
        "Parent or carer",
        "Local business owner",
        "Service worker",
        "Volunteer",
        "Other"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "area_or_neighbourhood",
      "label": "Your neighbourhood or area",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "top_needs",
      "label": "What are the biggest needs near you?",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "required": true,
      "help": "Pick up to three.",
      "options": [
        "Food",
        "Housing",
        "Jobs and skills",
        "Childcare",
        "Transport",
        "Mental wellbeing",
        "Health services",
        "Safe spaces",
        "Language support",
        "Digital access",
        "Support for older people"
      ],
      "max": 3
    },
    {
      "id": "matters_most_now",
      "label": "In a few words, what matters most right now?",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 250
    },
    {
      "id": "help_is_easy_to_find",
      "label": "It is easy to find help near me",
      "type": "rating",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 5
    },
    {
      "id": "services_meet_needs",
      "label": "Local services meet my needs",
      "type": "rating",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 5
    },
    {
      "id": "barriers_to_help",
      "label": "What gets in the way of getting help?",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "options": [
        "Cost",
        "Transport",
        "Opening hours",
        "Not knowing where to go",
        "Language",
        "Worry about stigma",
        "Long waiting lists",
        "Nothing gets in the way"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "used_our_services",
      "label": "Have you used our services before?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "Yes",
        "No",
        "Not sure"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "one_change",
      "label": "What one change would help most?",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 1000
    },
    {
      "id": "ways_to_help",
      "label": "How might you help?",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "options": [
        "Share ideas",
        "Volunteer",
        "Spread the word",
        "Come to a meeting"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "news_email",
      "label": "Email, only if you want to hear about next steps",
      "type": "email"
    },
    {
      "id": "summary_use_ok",
      "label": "I understand my answers help plan services and are reported as a summary",
      "type": "checkbox",
      "required": true
    }
  ]
}

Needs assessment template for a community group