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Assessing Need

Who are the people with the need?
(target to benefit from effort) - Not you but who in your community? You are a way to help meet a community or social need. Who are you trying to serve?

  • Who will your proposed project benefit? It is not you – it is the community!
  • Ask yourself:
    • How does our effort or action benefit the broader group?
    • What is the social benefit?
    • What does the funder want?

What is the Need?

What you want or need to know.

  • Experience
    • Remember, you are an expert
    • Much of what you know, what you understand comes from your own experience
    • For example, you may work with children and have done so for years – you understand their situation, the situation of their family and you have ideas on how to address it. Yes, look for additional supporting material (research, other experts) but your instincts should be a guide.
  • Empirical
    You need to combine your instincts, your own experiences, with empirical evidence.
    • Means you can measure it, it is the factual and it can be substantiated with evidence.
    • The use of data.

Why you want to know it?

  • Build a case
  • Build organization and logic
  • Build local support
  • Build exposure and momentum

What evidence do you have to support the need?
This is not I feel, we think, it is we can prove it – we have data/facts.

What are the consequences of meeting or not meeting the need?

Where are the people?
Out of state funders have no clue where your small town is, or for that matter even most larger towns in your state. You have to tell and show them.

When is the need evident?

Why does the need occur?
Back this up with evidence!

How is the need linked to your organization?

Ways to Assess Need?

Secondary data

  • Information and data that already exists
  • Public data
  • Census (total, age cohorts, trends – show impact on health)
  • County rankings (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released data on County Health Rankings)
  • Economic (income, poverty, employment, gross domestic product)
  • Education (level achieved, technology)
  • Chronic Disease statistics
  • Interventions (what has or is being done – impact)
Key Informant Interviews
  • One-on-one interviews
  • Key or essential community people
  • Get input from the different community sectors
    • Health
    • Business/economic development
    • Government
    • Religion
    • Education
Focus Groups
  • A specially selected group to discuss an issue
  • Mostly open-ended questions
  • Generally around 7-10 people, can be more but the size needs to be manageable
  • Contrasts with Key Informant
    • Key informant provides individual perspective
    • Focus group offers individual within the context of a group
  • Advantages
    • Speed
    • Low cost
    • Flexibility
    • Benefit of group dynamics
  • Disadvantages
    • Less control than key informant
    • Difficulty in assembling the group
    • Disadvantage of group dynamics
Survey
  • Sample of population (entire population)
  • Typically a closed ended instrument (sometimes open ended)
  • On-line, Mailed, telephone, personal interview
  • Measure attitude
    • Present services (awareness, use, need)
    • Need for future services
    • Quality of services/care
    • Provider assessment
  • Very common
Community Forum
  • Single or multiple public meeting
  • Open to the public or key constituents so you never know who/what you are going to get.
  • Pose questions to the audience – need to have a strong facilitator to be successful
    • What do you see as the most important community or regional health problems?
    • What areas should be addressed?
    • How do we address these issues?

Needs Assessment Resources