This printable community needs assessment survey helps local governments, nonprofits, and neighborhood associations hear from every resident, including the many who never respond to online forms. It prints on about seven pages, with one clearly labeled section per page, and takes ten to fifteen minutes to complete.
What this survey measures
The survey opens with a short household profile, then works through the areas that shape daily life in a community: satisfaction with housing and its affordability, the importance of and satisfaction with eight core local services, safety and environmental conditions, transport and access around the area, and how easily residents can reach health and wellbeing services. A final section asks residents to pick their top priorities for the next five years, score the area as a place to live, and describe the biggest issue and the one change they most want to see.
How to use it on paper
Distribute copies at libraries, community centers, town halls, and public events, or mail them with a return envelope. Residents fill the checkboxes with a blue or black pen. Collect the completed forms and scan them in batches: PaperSurvey reads the checkbox answers with optical mark recognition and converts the handwritten comments to text automatically, so results flow into your dashboard without manual data entry.
Customize this template
Add your city or organization logo, rename the services to match what your community actually provides, translate the form for multilingual outreach, or add questions about a specific project or budget decision. The paper layout reflows automatically as you edit, and every copy you print stays scannable.
Preview the PDF above, or use this template to start your community needs assessment today.