Needs Assessment
A needs
assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs,
or "gaps" between current conditions and desired conditions or
"wants". The discrepancy between the current condition and wanted
condition must be measured to appropriately identify the need. The need can be
a desire to improve current performance or to correct a deficiency.
A needs assessment is a part of planning
processes, often used for improvement in individuals, education/training,
organizations, or communities. It can refine and improve a product such as training
or service a client receives. It can be an effective tool to clarify problems
and identify appropriate interventions or solutions. By clearly identifying the
problem, finite resources can be directed towards developing and implementing a
feasible and applicable solution. Gathering appropriate and sufficient data
informs the process of developing an effective product that will address the
groups needs and wants. Needs assessments are only effective when they are
ends-focused and provide concrete evidence that can be used to determine which
of the possible means-to-the-ends are most effective and efficient for
achieving the desired results.
Others definitions of need assessment are:
·
A needs assessment can be
described as a process for identifying the knowledge and skills necessary for
achieving organizational goals (Brinkerhoff & Gill, 1994).
·
A needs assessment is a
method of finding out the nature and extent of performance problems and how
they can be solved (Molenda, Pershing, &Reigeluth, 1996).
·
A needs assessment is a
process for pinpointing reasons for gaps in performance or a method for
identifying new and future performance needs (Gupta, 1999).
·
A needs assessment is a
systematic approach to identifying social problems, determining their extent,
and accurately defining the target population to be served and the nature of
their service needs (Rossi, P. H., Freeman, H. E., &Lipsey, Mark, W. L.,
1998).
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