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Appendix A: Question Bank for Learning about the Community Through Partners

Rather than assuming what engagement techniques will work best, directly engage local partners and stakeholders to gain insight into a community. Be mindful of asking for information that a community or partners have already shared or that could be informed by knowledge and data that already exists. The question bank below provides sample questions to consider asking partners and stakeholders to understand the community better.

General questions:

  • What are the community’s biggest challenges?
  • Who in this community do you consider to be ‘underserved’?
  • What are current barriers to accessing resources?
  • What are important economic, environmental, historic, and cultural resources in the community?

Communication-related questions:

  • What languages does the community speak and understand?
  • How do you exchange new information?
  • What are the places where community members like to gather?
  • What information sources does the community trust?

Incident-related questions:

  • Has your community previously faced challenges in emergency preparedness and response?
  • Have you accessed emergency resources in the past? If so, what was your experience?
  • What are the current gaps in your community’s incident recovery and response?

Partnership-related questions:

  • What other organizations, nonprofits, and agencies do you currently have strong relationships with?
  • Which partnership networks do you belong to?
  • Are there barriers you currently face when thinking about partnering with federal agencies or other government (i.e., local, regional, or state) partners?
  • What are important considerations to keep in mind when supporting your community?
  • How do you feel current partnerships could be strengthened?