An attempt should be made to include a broad spectrum of the community. No one group should be left out. The process may need facilitation by an independent body. Those already intimately involved in the development process should not lead the needs assessment. Regardless of who leads the needs assessment process, they need to be seen as impartial by respondents.
Surveys are probably the most common method of information collection.
However, when addressing a controversial and complex issue, survey formats will often not be sufficient. If the population to be surveyed have underdeveloped reading and writing abilities, then focus groups may be preferable over a paper questionnaire. Another method is the public meeting, but this is also not always the answer. Marginalized groups are often the least likely to attend and if they attend the least likely to voice their opinions. Often a handful of participants will dominate the discussion leaving a skewed vision of community sentiment.