Community Development Needs Assessments and Community Development Management Plans, Worldwide

Acorn International performed three separate Social Impact and Opportunity Assessments for oil and gas exploration / production programs in the US Gulf of Mexico coastal zone, Arkansas shale gas fields, and Philippines/Malaysia coastal communities.

Each involved performing social baseline studies, facilitating workshops with project teams to identify and prioritize community investment/development needs and developing initial management plans for investment in host communities over time.

The Arkansas needs assessment was for an on-going shale gas production program and therefore more complex than the other two. This assessment included a 700-respondent telephone survey of community members plus interviews with county judges to identify, prioritize and evaluate the needs and opinions of community residents and other stakeholders.