Virginia Cooperative Extension Seeks Community Input through Needs Assessment Survey

Local residents are invited to share insights to guide program development

The Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) has announced a statewide needs assessment survey, aiming to understand better the needs of communities across the Northern Shenandoah Valley. VCE encourages all residents, regardless of their past engagement with the Extension’s services, to participate.

The findings from this survey will help VCE refine its priorities and develop programs that best address the needs of local residents. The process is anonymous and is estimated to take only about 10 minutes.

VCE, an educational outreach program of Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, is deeply rooted in local communities, delivering knowledge, supporting businesses, and conducting research to enhance the well-being of all Virginians.

The survey is divided into three sections: personal background, community issues, and further personal information. Its purpose is to understand residents’ perceptions of potential community issues and their suggestions for VCE’s focus areas.

While there are no explicit risks or benefits to participating, the participants’ responses will contribute to a broader understanding of community needs and subsequently help VCE shape their future initiatives to meet those needs. The collected data will be kept confidential to the fullest extent provided by law.

Those interested can access the survey online via the following links until August 31: English version at https://tinyurl.com/2023vcensvneedsE and Spanish version at https://tinyurl.com/2023vcensvneedsS. Paper copies can also be obtained from any of the county Extension offices in the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

For any queries regarding the study, you may reach out to Sarah Baughman at baughman@vt.edu or call 540-231-7142.