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Step 4: Conduct a Resource Assessment

What is a resource assessment?

A resource assessment is a systematic process for examining the current resources in your community which are reducing risk factor and increasing protective factors. It answers the question: "What's going on in my community?"

What are "resources"? They are anything that can be activated to reduce the likelihood that individuals or communities will begin or continue to abuse alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

Why do we need to complete a resource assessment?

A resource assessment will assist you in:

• Identifying gaps where new services should be implemented
• Avoiding duplication in services
• Building collaboration among service providers
• Modifying existing programs to meet prevention needs
• Identifying existing resources to sponsor new programs
• Ensuring you are putting your time and money where it will have the greatest impact
• Ensuring you are creating a comprehensive prevention strategy for your community
• Ensuring you are effectively impacting the priority risk and protective factors that you identified when completing your community assessment (Steps 2 and 3).

How do we complete a resource assessment?

1. Before conducting a resource assessment, you must complete a community assessment and translate the data into priorities (Step 2 and Step 3).
2. Collect information on existing resources in your community which may be addressing the priority risk and protective factors that you identified through your community assessment.
3. Analyze the resources to determine how effectively they are impacting your priority risk and protective factors.
4. Determine where the gaps in services are in your community.

Next Step: Focus Your Efforts

For more information and tools on conducting a resource assessment:

Achieving Outcomes: A Practitioner's Guide to Effective Prevention, developed by the National Center for the Advancement of Prevention (funded by the HHS SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention), Conference Edition 2002.