The online Fort St. John Community Program and Service Inventory Survey was a part of the work being undertaken in Fort St. John by the University of Northern British Columbia’s (UNBC) Community Development Institute (CDI) via The Forge. In consecutive phases, The Forge aims to gather, process, and present data and information about the community of Fort St. John as a way of meaningfully informing local and regional decision-making. The Fort St. John Community Profile constituted Phase One of this effort. The program and service inventory, together with a community indicators program as well as a community survey, is a part of Phase Two. The Community Program and Service Inventory is a living document which will be updated regularly.
The aim of the program and service inventory was to compile a comprehensive list of available programs and services and create an opportunity to identify possible gaps and overlaps. In combination with the community profile, this information can help service providers determine community needs and allocate resources effectively. As it is based on a voluntary survey, the inventory cannot be a complete representation of all programs and services offered in Fort St. John. The weakness of our data collection was the limited ability of service providers to find time to participate.
Despite some gaps in service representation, the data collected in the survey created a snapshot of the type and number of available services and the population they serve. This information was used to create a service delivery map, which identifies:

• The number of programs and services by type;
• The numbers and types of services by target age group;
• The numbers and types of services and their enrolment capacity by target population group;
• The service types facing unmet demands as expressed by enrolment compared to available spaces;
• The cost associated with services for certain target groups;
• Program delivery and opportunities for volunteer involvement by target groups; and
• Funding sources for programs and services.

Fort St. John Program and Service Inventory