Needs assessment
A needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or "gaps", between current conditions and desired conditions or "wants". Needs assessment is part of planning. It can be used to clarify problems and identify appropriate solutions. Needs assessments require sufficient data. Needs assessments can help improve policy or program decisions, individuals, education, training, organizations, communities, or products. There are three types of need in a needs assessment; perceived need, expressed need and relative need. Perceived needs are defined by what people think about their needs, each standard changes with each respondent. 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. Relative needs are concerned with equity and must consider differences in population and social pathology. History Considered the "father of needs assessment", Roger Kaufman developed a model for determining needs defined as a gap in results. This particular emphasis in results focuses on the outcomes that result from products, processes, or inputs. Kaufman argues that an actual need can only be identified independent of premature selection of a solution. To conduct a quality needs assessment according to Kaufman, determine the current results, articulate the desired results, and the distance between results is the actual need. Once a need is identified, then a solution can be selected. Kaufman's model identifies needs at the societal level, "Mega" planning, along with needs at the Macro (organizational) and Micro level (individuals and small groups). Organizational elements vary among the three different levels: outcomes at the Mega level, outputs at the Macro level, and products at the Micro level. 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. A variety of data collection and decision making tools and processes can be used for each, including the following examples (also see ). The use of population-based indicators is common in extensive needs assessments and has several strengths. These strengths include that such data are available for broad geographical areas, available on a large number of individuals or cases, allow description of entire populations, allow trend analysis over time, are relatively easy to access, inexpensive to use, and perceived as unbiased. Another method commonly used in extensive needs assessments is the survey. The strengths of the survey method are: they allow for direct feedback to the public as well as stakeholders, can foster public awareness about a problem or concern, can be customized to address specific issues, can be targeted to specific population groups or geographic areas, and can provide very timely results. An additional potential data source for extensive needs assessments are service and program databases. The strengths of this source of data are: they often contain data collected over many years, are readily accessible by existing program staff, provide the most current data, and