Needs assessments for Ryan White planning councils
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Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program planning councils and planning bodies set service priorities and allocate funds, and they are expected to base those decisions on a needs assessment. The people whose needs matter most are often the ones out of care, and they are the hardest to reach.
Why do Ryan White planning councils need a needs assessment?
Planning councils in Part A jurisdictions assess needs, set service priorities and allocate funds, and those decisions are expected to rest on a needs assessment. It is a continuing activity that draws on surveillance data, the HIV care continuum, service use and direct input from people with HIV, including those not in care. Plotline Evaluation reaches those people and reports their voices alongside the numbers.
What the program expects
- Planning councils in Part A jurisdictions assess needs, set priorities and allocate resources (HRSA Ryan White Part A; Public Health Service Act, section 2602(b)).
- The council must determine the needs of people with HIV, with particular attention to those who know their status but are not in care, and set up ways to hear from the community, which the statute says may include public meetings and focus groups (42 U.S.C. 300ff-12(b)(4)).
Facts on this page were checked against the official sources on October 31, 2026. Rules change; rely on the official announcement or regulation linked here, not on this summary.
Where we fit
This is confidential, relationship-based work, and most of it is qualitative.
- Consumer surveys designed with your council, in the languages your community speaks
- Focus groups and interviews with people with HIV, including people out of care, and with providers
- Quantitative analysis of surveillance, care continuum and service use data
- Data management with the confidentiality protections this work requires
- Expert data visualization, and findings presented in the form your priority-setting process uses
- Final reporting in multiple formats: full report, executive summary, slide deck, one-page brief or dashboard
Mixed methods is our default design: qualitative and quantitative data, collected together and reported as one story.
Timing
Councils usually need findings before the annual priority-setting and resource allocation meetings. We recommend working back three to six months from yours.
Questions people ask
When should the needs assessment be finished?
Before the annual priority-setting and resource allocation meetings. We recommend working back three to six months from yours.
How do you reach people with HIV who are out of care?
Consumer surveys designed with your council, in the languages your community speaks, and focus groups and interviews with people with HIV, including people out of care, and with providers, with the confidentiality protections this work requires.
Planning your next needs assessment?
Tell us the jurisdiction and when your council sets priorities. You will hear back within one business day.
Every inquiry is confidential. We never sell or share your information. Privacy policy.