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Needs
assessment can be described as...
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A
process for identifying the knowledge and skills
necessary for achieving organizational goals
(Brinkerhof & Gill, 1994),
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A
process for pinpointing reasons for gaps in
performance or a method for identifying new and
future performance (Gupta, Sleezer, & Russ-Eft,
2006),
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A method
of finding out the nature and extent of performance
problems and how they can be solved (Molenda,
Pershing, & Reigeluth, 1996),
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The
process for pinpointing reasons for gaps in
performance or a method for identifying new and
future performance needs (Gupta, 1999), or...
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A
systematic approach with defined series of phases
that gathers data by means of established procedures
and methods for a specific purpose (Witken &
Altschuld, 1995).
Needs assessments (NA) are based on a
rich body of literature, often comparing and contrasting
needs assessment to other evaluation approaches and
methods. The NA TIG is an active group of professionals
that both study and apply needs assessment theories and
models in a variety of settings -- from health care to
economics. For additional information on needs
assessment you can also visit NeedsAssessment.org,
a comprehensive resource site on the topic.
Most years, members of the NA
TIG contributed essays to AEA 365. Each essay offers
a unique perspective on needs assessment and is linked
below:
AEA365: Jim Altschuld on Tips for Asset-based Thinking when Doing Needs Assessments
AEA365: Ryan Watkins on Needs Assessment: Making Recommendations
AEA365: Ingrid Guerra-Lopez on Design-Oriented Needs Assessment: Transitioning from Problem Definition to Solution Design
AEA365: Hsin-Ling (Sonya) Hung on Key Ingredients for a Simple Needs Assessment Recipe
AEA365:
Maurya West Meiers on Identifying and Staying in Touch with
Your Needs Assessment Stakeholders and Informants
AEA365:
Ryan Watkins on Planning to Measure Needs
AEA365:
Sue Hamann on Tips for Novice Needs Assessors
AEA365:
Hsin-Ling (Sonya) Hung on Needs Assessment and
Decision-making
AEA365:
James Altschuld on Hybrid Vigor – It’s not just Needs
Assessment or Asset/Capacity Building
AEA365:
Lisle Hites on Conducting a Needs Assessment on HIV/AIDS
Issues in the South
AEA365: Roger Kaufman on Needs
Assessment
AEA365: Overcoming Five
Obstacles to a Successful Needs Assessment
AEA365:
Including Intended Service Recipients in Needs
Assessment and Program Planning
AEA365:
Planning and Managing Your Needs Assessment
AEA365:
Lessons Learned: Use the 3 Phase Model
AEA365: Five Must Read Articles
on Needs Assessment
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NEEDS ASSESSMENT EMAIL GROUP
For practitioners, students, researchers, and others who are interested in the topic of needs assessment, in partnership with the NeedsAssessment.org, we have created an email group (listserv). You can post questions, share articles, and find experts by posting to this mailing list.
To Join:
Send an email to needsassessment-request@freelists.org with the subject line "Subscribe".
To Manager Your Subscription:
http://www.freelists.org/list/needsassessment
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
You can always learn about upcoming workshops and conference sessions at: http://needsassessment.org
EVALUATION 2017 in Washington DC
Needs Assessment TIG
Presentations and Workshops
You can review these and other presentations and papers from conferences at the AEA eLibrary to get ideas.
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Recent Publications By NA TIG Members
Altschuld, J.W. (2014) Bridging the Gap between Asset/Capacity Building and Needs Assessment: Concepts and Practical Applications. Sage Publications; Thousand Oaks, CA.
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Altschuld, J. W.,
& Kumar, D. D. (2010) The Needs
Assessment KIT - Book 1, Needs Assessment: An Overview.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
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Altschuld, J. W.,
& Eastmond, J. N. Jr. (2010). The Needs
Assessment KIT - Book 2, Phase I: Getting
Started. Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
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Altschuld, J. W. (2010). The
Needs Assessment KIT - Book 3, Phase II:
Collecting Data. Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
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Altschuld, J. W.,
& White, J. L. (2010). The Needs
Assessment KIT - Book 4, Analysis and
Prioritization.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications.
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Altschuld, J. W., & Lepicki, T. L.
(2010). Needs Assessment in Human Performance
Interventions. In R. Watkins and D. Leigh
(Eds.), The Handbook for the Selection and Implementation of Human Performance Interventions, San Francisco: Wiley
(Jossey-Bass).
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Kaufman, R. & Guerra-Lopez, I. (2013). Needs Assessment for Organizational Success. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.
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Watkins, R., West
Meiers, M. and Visser, Y. (2012). A
Guide to Assessing Needs: Tools for collecting
information, making decisions, and achieving
development results. Washington, DC: World
Bank. (available for free online)
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Watkins, R. and
Leigh, D. (Eds.) (2009). The
Handbook of Improving Performance in the
Workplace - Volume 2: Selecting and Implementing
Performance Interventions. San
Francisco: Wiley-Jossey/Bass and Silver Spring, MD:
ISPI. (Most chapters available
online at Scribd for free)
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White, J. and
Altschuld, J. (2012). Understanding the ‘‘what
should be condition’’ in needs assessment data.
Evaluation and Program
Planning, 35(1), 124–132.
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If you have addition
publications to add, please email them to Ryan Watkins.
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The NA TIG members also use LinkedIn to network and
share knowledge with others. Join our conversations.
The NA TIG is
defined around the application and theory of needs
assessment techniques in a variety of evaluation
settings. The TIG coordinates its efforts through AEA
and is particularly active in the annual conference. To
become involved, you must first be a member of AEA and
may join up to 5 Topical Interest Groups. If you
are interested in joining the Needs Assessment TIG
contact AEA or send an e-mail to the Chair or Co-chair
at the links above on the TIG Leadership tab.
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