Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) It is a process in large Organizations where Companies integrate Social and Environmental concerns into their Businesses. In some cases, the Companies do this as required by Company law and, in some cases, at the Company’s initiative. In either case, management should establish a separate committee, governing body, and volunteer group to look after the CSR function.

Planning and need for evaluation: Before going into the details of CSR activities, proper planning is required along with the budget. The roles and responsibilities of the committee members must be decided and the first task of this initiative is the needs assessment for the CSR Project. Without assessing the exact needs of the community, the project does not remain sustainable and the impact would also be minimal. Sociopolitical impact, environmental issues, state of infrastructure, health facilities, awareness and level of education, availability of food and water, public transportation and sanitation requirements should be assessed before the start of the CSR project. . A thorough needs assessment is required to make it effective for the community and showcase corporate philanthropy. The context of the initiative is important for society in general to see the benefits.

recurring evaluation: It is important to outline the pre- and post-project scenarios to ensure that the project will improve the social well-being of the community after implementation. In many cases, this is no longer a one-time activity and progress needs to be tracked along with evaluation of the expected result. This means that the evaluation is going to be a continuous process at frequent intervals. The changing needs of the community is also an important factor.

How to carry out a needs assessment?

There are several ways that companies can conduct this needs assessment. Since the company may not have the required skills, manpower and time, most of them prefer to approach a CSR consultant and carry out this assessment. Whichever method is chosen for the evaluation, it is always necessary to carry out some basic steps.

Investigation: Internet based research is the first thing in the world today to start any new project and the same applies to a CSR project as well. With the ease of finding information on the Internet, you need to find all the information available about the need of a particular town, area or community through various reports and news. There is no need to reinvent the wheel and you can always refer to the authentic reports created and published by the government or NGOs.

Talking to individuals: Surveys are an important part of any social needs assessment and talking to people on the ground is extremely important. Using your own volunteers to go into the field and annotate or record the question and answer sessions will provide valuable feedback. Depending on your location and internet availability, you can also use technology to capture field data.

Talk to groups: Focus group discussions are an effective way to discover common problems such as a lack of health facilities or a shortage of drinking water. You will always find local groups of politicians, activists, environmental protection groups, etc. who is going to work in the particular area and taking their views into account is important.

Use of Available Assets: You need to know about assets such as natural resources, manpower, environmental conditions, work already done by other organizations or the government to solve a particular problem, etc. This information strengthens your assessment needs so that you can use and map the assets for the benefit of the project and the community.

Stakeholder engagement:There are multiple stakeholders involved in a community project. The funding company, the local government, the local politicians and, most importantly, the community for which the project will be implemented. Involving everyone and committing them is an important task for the success of the project.