Community Situation Assessment
Four columns. What's working. What's not. How to improve. What you'll do in two weeks.
Pressure addressed: psychological, economic
Time: First session takes 25 minutes, then repeats every two weeks
People: 3-30 people, works at any scale
Resources: Post-it notes, markers, a wall, 25 minutes
About this tool
Psychological warfare convinces you that your situation is your fault, nothing is working, and things will only get worse. The counter is structured honesty, a collective assessment that starts with what's actually working before addressing what isn't.
How to do it
Set up four columns
Label them: Working well / Not working well / How to improve / What I'll do in two weeks.
Start with strengths
5 minutes. Everyone writes what IS working. Place in Column 1. Read aloud. This is your foundation.
Name challenges
5 minutes. What's NOT working. Column 2. Notice how many are shared, that's structural, not personal.
Generate improvements
How can we improve? Write ideas. Group similar ones together.
Commit to action
Each person: ONE specific thing you'll do in two weeks. Say it to the group.
Reconvene in two weeks
Review commitments. Run the exercise again. Watch challenges migrate to strengths over time.
Before you start
- People willing to spend 25 minutes being honest together
- Post-it notes, markers, a wall
Implementation guidance
Starting point
- Full four-column assessment with all participants contributing
- Strengths-first approach maintained
- Specific, time-bound commitments
- Two-week cycle established and maintained
- Progress tracked across sessions
Building on it
- Assessment completed with Columns 1, 2, and 4
- Most participants contributed
- At least one follow-up session conducted
Advanced practice
- Only Column 2 completed, no strengths, no commitments
- Exercise run once and never repeated
- One person filling columns 'on behalf of' the group
Skipping strengths reinforces the deficit narrative psychological warfare depends on. Without commitments, you've created a complaint session that teaches participants reflection doesn't lead to action, making future organising harder.
Examples
PTP Programme, Multi-Country
Adapted from Agile retrospectives for micro-entrepreneurs across Karachi, Yemen, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, including participants who could not read or write.
Integrated into PTP's mini-MBA, which delivered 25% revenue growth and 68% profitability growth across 1,600+ participants. Participants who reflect regularly outperform those who don't.
Source