Start with the decisions
A Joint Strategic Needs Assessment should establish what local people need, how those needs differ and what the implications are for services. An extensive collection of indicators is not enough if readers cannot identify the priorities it supports.
In England, local authorities and integrated care boards have joint duties to prepare JSNAs through health and wellbeing boards. The assessment should inform the joint local health and wellbeing strategy, with a clear connection between evidence, priorities and commissioning.
A priority needs an explicit rationale
Explain why a need warrants attention: its scale, severity, unequal distribution, expected trajectory and scope for an effective response. Make the criteria visible so that stakeholders can challenge the judgement, not simply the indicator selected.
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Inside the full briefing
- The core evidence
- Use sources for the questions they can answer
- Avoid the static evidence library
- Questions for commissioners
- Where to start