Tool 5 – Analyzing Community Risks

One of the ways partners involved in planning may choose to identify or validate local risks is through town hall meetings, where agencies/organizations and community members are provided with an opportunity to talk about their experiences with risk. Others may decide to have one-on-one meetings with community agencies/organizations or focus groups to discuss risks that are most common among those they serve.

This section is intended to assist planning partners in capturing the results of their community engagement, including who was engaged, what risks were identified, and how those risks can be analyzed and prioritized. This process will be crucial as they move towards developing risk-based approaches to safety and well-being.

Summary of Community Engagement Sessions

Planning partners may begin by writing a summary of their community engagement sessions, including the time period in which they were conducted, types of outreach or communication used, successes, challenges and findings, and any other key pieces of information or lessons learned. They may then record the people, agencies/organizations and sectors that were engaged and participated in their community engagement sessions in a chart similar to the one below, in order to show the diverse perspectives that have fed into their plan, and to help assess whether there are any other groups or sectors that still need to be engaged.

Sector/Vulnerable Group	Organization/Affiliation
Health	Hospital Public Health Unit Community Care Access Centre
Education	School Board High School Principal Alternative Education Provider
Housing	Community Housing Office Landlords
Emergency responders	Police service/Ontario Provincial Police Fire Department Ambulance
Social services	Employment Centre Family/Parenting Support Services Community Recreation Centre Women’s Shelters Local Indigenous Agencies
Mental health and addictions	Treatment/Rehabilitation Centre Mental Health Advocacy Addiction Support Group
Indigenous peoples	Band/Tribal Councils Local Indigenous community organizations (e.g., local Métis Councils) Local Indigenous service providers (e.g., Indigenous Friendship Centres)