Needs assessment

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A needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or "gaps", between current conditions, and desired conditions, or "wants". [1]

Contents

Needs assessments can help improve policy or program decisions, individuals, education, training, organizations, communities, or products. [2]

There are three types of need in a needs assessment: perceived need, expressed need and relative need.

  1. Perceived needs are defined by what people think about their needs; each standard changes with each respondent.
  2. Expressed needs are defined by the number of people who have sought help and focuses on circumstances where feelings are translated into action. A major weakness of expressed needs assumes that all people with needs seek help.
  3. Relative needs are concerned with equity and must consider differences in population and social pathology. [3]

History

Considered the "father of needs assessment", Roger Kaufman developed a model for determining needs defined as a gap in results. [4] Kaufman argued that an actual need can only be identified independent of a proposed solution. According to Kaufman, to conduct a good-quality needs assessment, determine the current results and articulate the desired results; the distance between results is the actual need. Once a need is identified, then a solution can be selected. [5] [6] [7]

Extensive vs. intensive

Extensive research uses a large number of cases to determine the characteristics of a population, while intensive research examines one or a few cases in depth. [8]

Once the group has identified needs, they then generally turn to intensive needs assessment in order to rank the needs. This part of the research is concerned with examining the depth of the need, and potentially required resources.

Needs chain model

A needs chain model is a framework that allows organizations to simultaneously consider the individuals' needs within an organization, and the organization's needs, in order to prioritise resources and identify areas of improvement for the organization. [9]

A needs chain model is composed of aligned horizontal and vertical processes. The horizontal needs are:

Also, it has four vertical factors:

Training needs assessment

Training needs assessment is an inquiry of training needs within an organization. [12]

There are three levels of training needs assessment:

Community

A community needs assessment [13] can be broadly categorized into three types based on their respective starting points. First, needs assessments which aim to discover weaknesses within the community and create a solution. Second, needs assessments which are structured around, and seek to address a problem facing the community. Third, needs assessments of an organization which serves the community (domestic violence centers, community health clinics, etc.).

Consumer leadership assessment is an assessment of the frequency with which community members use or are likely to use an existing or planned service. [14]

Example

Burke (2005) examined statistics that showed a need within the community of Bayview Hunters Point in order to "identify gaps in service delivery system to create a road map for improving neighborhood conditions by rationalizing the allocation of city dollars to social service programs". [15]

See also

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References

Citations

  1. Kizlik, Bob. "Needs Assessment Information (Wants determine needs)". ADPRIMA. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  2. Watkins, West Meiers & Visser 2012, p. 5.
  3. Bradshaw, J. (1972). "The concept of social need". New Society. Vol. 30. pp. 640–643. ISSN   0028-6729. Kettner, P.M.; Moroney, R.M.; Martin, L.L. (2008). Designing and managing programs: An effectiveness-based approach . Los Angeles: Sage. ISBN   9780761915492.
     Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality . New York: Harper & Row.
     Ponsioen, J. (1962). Social welfare policy: Contributions to theory. The Hague, the Netherlands: Mouton.
     Wallace, H.; Gold, E.; Dooley, S. (1967). "Availability and usefulness of selected health and socioeconomic data for community planning". American Journal of Public Health. 57 (5): 762–771. doi:10.2105/ajph.57.5.762. PMC   1227354 . PMID   6067201.
  4. Fulgham & Shaughnessy 2008.
  5. Witkin, B. R. (1994). Needs Assessment Since 1981: The State of the Practice. Evaluation Practice, 15 (1), 17–27.
  6. Kaufman, Rojas & Mayer 1993, p. 8.
  7. Kaufman, Rojas & Mayer 1993, p. 12.
  8. Stoecker, Randy (2005). Research Methods for Community Change . Thousand Oaks: Sage. ISBN   9780761928898.
  9. 1 2 3 Shafloot, Fayez. "Needs Chain Model, presented in AEA 2010, San Antonio". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
     Shafloot, Fayez (November 2010). Needs Chain Model. AEA 2010, San Antonio. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  10. Davidson, EJ (2005). Evaluation methodology basics: the nuts and bolts of sound evaluation. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
  11. Sip Jan Pijil; Hillie Veneman (2005). "Evaluating New Criteria and Procedures for Funding Special Needs Education in the Netherlands". Educational Management Administration & Leadership . 33 (1): 93–108. doi:10.1177/1741143205048176. S2CID   154075736.
  12. 1 2 "Training Needs Assessment". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  13. Center for Urban Research & Learning. "A Community Needs Assessment Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  14. National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center (2005). "Community Needs Assessment" (PDF). Mental Health America of South Carolina.
  15. Burke 2005, p. 7.

Bibliography

Further reading