oa Survey of the Problems of Social Reality of Qatari Population: An Applied Analytical Study on Needs Assessment and Situation Analysis

The ultimate objective of this study is to explore the strengths and weaknesses and the nature of the services available and required in Qatari communities, in order to assist the Council in promoting these communities developmentally in a balanced way, using a number of scientific and systematized methodological that enable us to develop a scientific database that can be relied upon in future planning, in order to realize the idea of sustainable development based on integrating various social groups and strata in a flexible, concrete, methodological and differentiated development process that is centered on the needs and efforts of the local community.

The study aimed to diagnose and analyze the situation in these communities in terms of: (Strengths; Weaknesses; Opportunities: available or that can be made available; Threats; Various obstacles facing developmental efforts in these communities) , to identify key players in these societies and classifying them as either: (Initiators, Influential or Decision-makers), to identify the main difficulties experienced by Qatari society regarding different services, as well as to identify the size and nature of the role played by the State through its various institutions in the following areas: Educational, Economic, Social, Entertainment, Health and Cultural services and to measure the nature and magnitude of the services provided in these communities and their ability to satisfy the needs of citizens and to assess extent of their satisfaction with these services. The study has employed a descriptive survey approach, through conducting a quantitative study on a stratified random sample of 1,100 subjects, distributed according to population distribution cited by the Census Bureau in 2006.

In addition, a qualitative study was conducted through three approaches: targeted discussion groups, through organizing 32 discussions focus groups. The qualitative study will allow us, to a great extent, to identify reasons, justifications and opinions that can only be elicited through this approach. Each session lasted for 1.5 - 2 hours and included 6-8 members of the target population. The study has also relied on in-depth interviews through the descriptive approach based on diagnosing and analyzing the reality lived by Qatari citizens through conducting in-depth interviews with a sample of natural and official opinion leaders in these communities.

Our sample consisted of 229 male and female subjects, selected from natural and official leaders. We have employed a desk research approach, through a survey questionnaire covering the most important services and resources available and required in these communities through the country's ten Municipalities. These services are economic, social, cultural, intellectual, educational, political and other services. We have also employed a comparative approach to make a comparison between the different groups of our target population, based on various demographic and psychological parameters.