Community Readiness

What is community readiness? Community readiness is the degree to which a community is ready to take action on an issue.

Community readiness is: Issue-specific. Measurable. Measurable across multiple dimensions. Variable across dimensions. Variable across different segments of the community. Able to be increased successfully. Is essential knowledge for addressing the issue.

What is the community readiness model? The community readiness model has six dimensions and nine levels.

Dimensions of community readiness: Community efforts. Community knowledge of the efforts. Leadership. Community climate. Community knowledge about the issue. Resources related to the issue.

Levels of community readiness: No awareness Denial / Resistance Vague awareness Preplanning Preparation Initiation Stabilization Confirmation / Expansion High level of community ownership

Why use the community readiness model? It conserves valuable resources (time, money, people) by guiding the selection of strategies that are most likely to be successful. It is an efficient, inexpensive, easy-to-use tool It promotes community recognition and ownership of the issue. Because of strong community ownership, it helps assure that strategies are culturally congruent and sustainable.

Why use the community readiness model? It encourages the use of local experts and resources instead or reliance on outside experts and resources. The process of community change can be complex and challenging, but the model breaks down the process into a series of manageable steps. It creates a community vision for healthy change.

When should you use the community readiness model? In the course of an ongoing effort. Each time you tackle a new issue. When several different communities, or different segments of the community, are involved. When you’re planning an effort that involves a participatory process. When you’ve engaged in a community or neighborhood planning effort.

Who should be involved in using the community readiness model?

Who should consider using the model and/or administering the assessment? Policy makers and planners. Community activists. Health and human service organizations. Coalitions. Anyone else interested in community or social change.

Who should be surveyed when the model is being applied? Schools/Universities. Municipal/County/Tribal Government. Law enforcement. Health and medical professions. Social services. Mental health and treatment services. Community at large. Youth. People on fixed incomes.

How do you use the community readiness model?

Administering and scoring the community readiness assessment Choose and train interviewers. Choose and train scorers. Revise the assessment tool, if necessary, to reflect the issue you’re concerned with. Select four to ten people to interview. Contact the people you have identified and see if they would be willing to discuss the issue. Conduct your interviews. Score the interviews.

Using Community Readiness Information: Initiate a participatory planning process, if possible. To move ahead, readiness on all dimensions must be at about the same level. Begin with strategies appropriate to the communities stage of readiness. Stick to it—the job’s never really done.