The approach is not so much about what you will do but how you will do it, i.e. how rapid and how participatory the assessment is intended to be. An important factor will be the context and status of existing relationships (or potential for collaboration) with various communities.
Key questions when considering the approach include:
- Do you already know of communities interested in the site?
- What is the current level of engagement/status of relationships with those communities?
- Is there evidence of activities (online or offline) that suggest other communities? Gaps (absences or silences) may become more apparent during the assessment process.
- How flexible is the process (including the timeline)?
- How much scope is there to identify joint priorities or for the assessment to be linked to community-led activities?
- What resources may be needed to support participation?
- How might this process support longer-term relationship building and future collaboration?
You may well have to adjust the approach in response to the emerging context. Things are unlikely to go exactly according to plan – flexibility is key.