A Fuzzy Logic Framework for Host Community Needs Assessment Using a Computer-Aided Prosperity Appraisal Tool framework, decision model, and methodological contribution

Host community needs assessment in Nigeria is frequently undermined by fragmented appraisal practices, limited transparency, and the difficulty of translating multidimensional poverty conditions into consistent decision outcomes. This manuscript recasts the CAPA study as a framework paper and presents a computer-aided prosperity appraisal model that uses fuzzy logic to evaluate the host community's development needs under uncertainty. Drawing only on the source manuscript, the paper synthesizes the development problem, the appraisal requirements, the proposed fuzzy inference structure, and the intended role of the CAPA platform in supporting more structured and participatory evaluation. The framework organizes appraisal around capacity domains, evaluation parameters, capacity gaps, objectives, action steps, test plans, deliverables, means of verification, and time frames. A Sugeno-style fuzzy inference perspective is used to explain how crisp indicators can be transformed into graded appraisal outcomes, making the model suitable for ambiguous and incomplete community development data. The paper argues that the CAPA framework contributes a clearer decision logic for host community assessment and a reusable basis for future digital planning tools in Rivers State and similar contexts.