Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs

Survival needs

Safety needs

Love, affection, & belonging needs

Esteem needs

Need for self-actualization

An individual cannot satisfy any level

unless needs below are satisfied

Self-actualization means becoming everything one is

capable of becoming

Most basic needs have to

do with physical and

psychological survival

Healthy persons

strive for self-

actualization

A Concept of NeedsFelt and Expressed Needs

•These are individual wants or desires •Clientele are not always able to articulate “felt needs” into “expressed needs” or even preferred solutions•Clientele’s felt needs often are not causally linked to underlying conditions.• Clientele tend to be able to identify problems and conditions rather than “needs”•Clientele sometimes express needs irrespective to costs to others

A Concept of Needs

Ascribed or Assigned Needs

•These are identified by outsiders to the group and “assigned”•The basis for this assignment can be “normative” -- below a preset standard such as the poverty line•The basis for assignment could also be comparative or relative, such as the concept of “relative poverty”

Most Needs Are Value-Based Judgements!!!

Values are based on Beliefs• Values of Clientele•Values of the County Agent•Values of Broader Community•Values of Funding Agencies•Values of Researchers•Values of State Government

Most Needs Are Value-Based Judgements!!!

Should Programming be Prioritized by Expressed Needs

or Ascribed Needs?

Macro vs. Micro Needs

Planning: An important first step in planning programs should be a needs assessment, which helps to:

•learn about present conditions in the county•learn about specific needs of the learners in the county•identify possibilities for new programs or improving old programs•improve the access of programs to a variety of people•access public opinion about goals and priorities

Needs Assessments Allow You to:•Describe current conditions•identify needs, problems, opportunities and emerging issues•provide support and documentation of the need for your programming•provide indicators of the severity/scope of need•establish priorities for programs•provide baseline or benchmark data•describe the primary audience and geographic location

The Needs Assessment Process

There are 10 Commonly Accepted Steps in the Needs Assessment Process

Step One Decision to Conduct the Assessment for Program Development

Step Two Identification of Individuals to be involved in the planning of Assessment

The Needs Assessment Process

Step Three Defining the Levels for Analysis such as Community (collaborators), Volunteers, and Clientele and What Questions to Ask!

The Needs Assessment Process: Step Three

Determine Questions by Listening!!

Informal Techniques, Key Informant Interviews, Focus Groups

•Pretend you are an anthropologist from another culture

•Do Windshield Reconnaissance

•Interact With the Natives

The Needs Assessment Process

Step Four Determination of Time Frame and Budget

Step Five Selection of Data Collection Techniques -- Don’t be Afraid of Mixed Methods and Triangulation -- Consider Felt and Ascribed Needs

The Needs Assessment Process

Step Six Collection of Data

Step Seven Analysis of Data -- Pay Particular Attention for Similarities in Ascribed and Felt Needs

The Needs Assessment Process

Step Eight Ranking

Step Nine Prioritizing by feasibility

Step Ten Turn Needs Into Objectives

Step Two Identify Individuals to be Involved in the Planning

There is a need to identify community leaders, especially in minority

communities

•Leaders can serve as Key Informants

•Leaders often serve as gate keepers to clientele

•Leaders may be important collaborators

•Ad Hoc of Advisory Committee

Leaders have social Power. Social Power is defined as the process of people bringing the resources they command to attain goals they desire in relationships with other people.

Power is revealed in relationships with other social actors.

Legitimacy is an important element and is gained through the recognition that the person in power is acting appropriately and properly for their roles. Sources of legitimacy include: business leaders, church/religion, rational/legal

Step Two Identify Individuals to be Involved in the Planning

There is a need to identify community leaders, especially in minority

communities

Three Approaches to Leader Identification:

•Positional Method

•Reputational Method

•Issues Method

CLIQUE

Upper

Middle

Lower

Community Power Structure

Factional

Community Power Structure

Religion

GOP

Farmers

Democrats

Business

Coalitional

Upper

Middle

Lower

Community Power Structure

Step three Define Levels for Analysisand What Questions to Ask

Defining Levels

•Determine the Scope of the Program

•Are there staff or volunteers? Assess professional development needs!!!

•Are there collaborators? Assess their needs and expectations.

•Does the program demand community involvement like CYFAR? Assess community (Macro) needs

•Don’t forget the clientele

ALL TEN STEPS ARE APPROPRIATE AT EACH LEVEL

Step three Define Levels for Analysisand What Questions to Ask

Defining Levels

•Determine the Scope of the Program

•For each level ask the questions are:

•What learning/professional development is needed ?

•What changes in behavior or performance are needed ?

•What are the benefits to be achieved if the program is successful ? Is it worth the effort?

Key Needs Assessment Questions:

•What are the needs of people in this community?•Is this need addressed by others in the community?•What programs must be added, changed, or improved?•Who supports this program?•What other individuals or agencies can and will contribute?

Step three Define Levels for Analysisand What Questions to Ask

How do you know what to ask if you have not listened first?

Ways of “Listening”

•observe public places and meetings

•Rely upon Key Informants and Action Informant Protocols

•Last try Focus Groups

Step three Define Levels for Analysisand What Questions to AskAdult Focus Groups

•6-12 adults, unknown to one another, and preferably, unknown to facilitator, have an ice breaker•4-10 open-ended questions for 1-2 hour session•good idea to provide incentives•it’s o.k. to probe•generates a range of needs or problems•listen for the language being used

Step three Define Levels for Analysisand What Questions to Ask

Youth Focus Groups•4-6 participants, can know each other•4-6 open-ended questions for no more than a 1 hour session•avoid yes/no questions -- have an ice breaker•instruct any adults to fade into the background and keep mouths shut!!!•Keep questions age appropriate•often useful to separate girls and boys•listen for the language being used•Typical questions include:

•what do you love?•what do you hate?•what would you change?

Step three Define Levels for Analysisand What Questions to Ask

•Focus Groups are not Random Representative Samples

•Survey work can Supplement Findings

•Advisory committees and other are more comfortable with quantitative assessments

•Nonetheless, An Alternative to Expensive Survey Research is to Conduct 3 or More Focus Groups and Triangulate with Advisory and Research input

Step Five -- Selection of Data Collection Techniques

Primary Data Collection:•Re-Utilize Focus Groups and/or Key and Action Informants•Collect Survey Data

•Telephone•Mail•Personal Interview

Use Secondary Data

The Needs Assessment Process

More Formal Methods of Assessment

Secondary Data for problem identification

a. examining community conditions and trends -- population size, growth and decline, migration, births and deaths, age,sex, and racial composition

The Needs Assessment Process

More Formal Methods of Assessment

Secondary Data for problem identification

b. Economic trends -- poverty, unemployment, income, welfare, cost of living

c. Social trends -- divorces, marriages, teen pregnancies, crime, health statistics

Using Secondary Data for Needs Assessments

What is Secondary Data?

•Secondary data is information collected by someone other than yourself--cheap alternative to doing it yourself!

•It is a compilation of records of other organizations or agencies

•surveys conducted by others

Using Secondary Data for Needs Assessments

To assess needs with secondary data, you begin by selecting “Key Indicators”

What is a Key Indicator?

•Key indicators are items of data or variables which provide information about a group of clientele

Key Indicators Are Used To . . . .

Identify a group’s size•the census of agriculture lists the number of farmers in each county•School enrollments are used for counts of youth by race and gender

Describe a group’s status or conditions •The census identifies the number of households in poverty•The census of agriculture lists the number of farms in 10 income categories

Selecting Key Indicators: Which Should You Use?

•Variables or measures available to you

•Data used by subject matter specialists

•Variables in published research

•Indicators that your experience or judgement have been shown to be useful

Methods for Interpreting Secondary DataCross-sectional comparisons

•by comparing your county with another similar or neighboring county or some other meaningful unit, such as:

•the state average•Region or district•previously established standard

Longitudinal comparisons

•compare county data for 2 points in time

GAP

USE THE GAP MODEL WITH SECONDARY DATA

What is Desired

What Currently Exits

IDENTIFY THE ROOT

OF THE PROBLEM

•Identify the MACRO NEED

•Identify the factors that cause the gap

•Segment the audience into groups with the same needs

Use Secondary Data to Understand How Audiences are Ranked in Society

People are Stratified by•education•lifestyle•status•ethnicity•race•income•occupation•etc.

These strata can be established

objectively or subjectively

Step Five Consider a Case Study Mapping Approach for Data Analysis

Use the Elements of the Social System to Understand and Map your Audience

Putting It all Together!

Elements of a Social System(Loomis 1960):•Beliefs•Sentiments•Ends or objectives•Facilities•Status Roles•Power•Norms•Social Rank•Sanctions

Elements of a Social System(Loomis 1960):•Beliefs -- what audience perceives as true•Sentiments -- feelings of solidarity that identify belonging to a group•Ends or objectives -- what does the group want -- reason for being a group-- the purpose of the needs assessment•Facilities -- what resources does the group have for obtaining ends or objectives•Status Roles -- expectations for various roles

Elements of a Social System(Loomis 1960):

•Power -- control in the system•Norms -- rules for behavior -- group acceptable behavior•Social Rank -- stratification•Sanctions -- culturally relevant rewards or punishment

Master Processes of Social Systems(Loomis 1960):

•Communication -- how is change transmitted•Boundary Maintenance -- process of maintaining identity•Socialization -- how does the group pass of their norms •Social Control -- how do they get each other to behave

Used to Generate a Full List of Possibilities

Possible Problems, Benefits, and Solutions are Good Jumping Off

Points

Steps Eight and Nine Ranking and Prioritizing

BRAINSTORMING

BRAINSTORMING

Procedures

1) Record All Ideas in Full View of Participants

2) There Should be a Moderator or Facilitator Who Stimulates Ideas During Lulls by Asking Open-Ended Questions

BRAINSTORMING

Procedures

3) Utilize a Turn-Taking Procedure if Interaction Becomes Unequal

4) Postpone Evaluation of Ideas to a Later Session

BRAINSTORMING

RULES1) Expressiveness-Suggest Any Idea That Comes to Mind!

2) Non-Evaluative-Ideas are not to be Evaluated During the Generation Phase

BRAINSTORMING

RULES3) Quantity-the More Ideas the Better

4) Build Upon and Extend the Ideas of Others

BRAINSTORMING

Variation: Brainwriting•Ideas that are Written in a Short Time Period

•Same Rules as Brainstorming

•Avoids Domination by Strong Personalities

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE

1) Silent Generation of Ideas in Writing (15-20 Minutes)

2) Round-Robin Participation-Each Individual Presents One Idea from their List That has not Been Presented Already

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE3) A Recorder Writes Each Idea on a Flip Chart or Chalkboard, in Full View of the Group. This Round-Robin Continues Until Nobody has Anymore New Ideas

4) Each Idea Then is Discussed Individually and Clarified by the Group

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE5) Spontaneous Evaluative Discussion, Which Includes Criticism, Follows

6) There is Next, Silent Individual Voting On Priorities or Rank Ordering

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE7) Sometimes the Group Decision is the Final Outcome. Sometimes the Results are Shown to the Group for Further Discussion and a Second Round of Voting

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE

Variation

Two or More Nominal Groups Work Independently; Then Present Their Final Set of Ideas to the Final Group, With Joint List and Rank Ordering or Voting Occurring on the Joint List

DELPHI TECHNIQUE

•Design Team or Agent Designs the Initial Questionnaire

•The Same Person(s) Redesigns the Follow-up Questionnaires

•The Respondent Group is Chosen as Experts or Interested Stakeholders

DELPHI TECHNIQUE

OBJECTIVES

•To Determine a Range of Possible Alternatives

•To Explore or Expose Underlying Assumptions or Information Leading to Differing Judgements

•To Seek Out Information Which May Generate a Consensus on the Part of the Respondent Group

DELPHI TECHNIQUE

OBJECTIVES

•To “Triangulate” Informed Judgements From a Variety of Interdisciplinary Experts

•To Educate the Respondent Group as to the Diverse and Interrelated Aspects of the Topic

DELPHI TECHNIQUE

Procedures

•Two or More Rounds of Written, Usually Anonymous, Ratings of Options or Projections by Expert Groups

•Typical Questions Include the Importance of Issues, Likelihood of Outcomes, etc.

DELPHI TECHNIQUE

Example

Round 1

•Provide Information Regarding the Housing Situation in Sunshine County

•Provide a List of Possible Solutions

•Ask the Panel to add any Solutions you have not Considered

•Ask the Panel to Rank These Possible Solutions

DELPHI TECHNIQUEExample

Round 2•Redesign the Survey so Possible Solutions are Rank Ordered, Include the New Possibilities•Have the Respondents Rank the Possible Solutions and Provide Comments on each Possible Scenario•You Discover One Expert’s Assumptions are Uncertainties For Others

DELPHI TECHNIQUEExample

Continue the Process Until:

1) Your Respondent Group Reaches Consensus

2) You Have Enough Useful Information to Proceed in the Program Development Process

Program Logic in Program Development

Bennet’s Hierarchy Program Logic Model

Social,Economic, Environmental Conditions

PracticesKnowledge, Opinions, Skills, Aspirations

Activities

ResourcesPlanning Performance

•Major objectives for your CMP should come directly from the MACRO NEED identified in your situation statement

•This objectives should probably be at the SEEC level and must be client based

Step 10 Turn Needs Into Objectives

•The needs assessment process should identify the major objective, even if the program is “Top Down” -- you must map the learners needs and situation to make the program effective

•A useful way to think about major objectives is as a “Structure of Needs”

•Needs have structure because to meet Macro Needs you must meet Micro Needs or annual objectives first

•Needs are logical, orderly, and sequential in structure

•The program planning process must address this needs structure systematically if it is to be effective

Needs Hierarchy Example

REDUCE SOLID WASTE IN COUNTY LANDFILL

6) Increase Recycling (Practice Change)

5) Increase Composting (Practice Change)

4) Ability to Sort Recyclables (Skills)

3) Knowledge of What and How to Recycle (Knowledge/Skills)

2) Do Clientele Wish to Save Money and Environment (Aspirations)

1) Create Awareness of Economic and Environmental Problems (Knowledge--Low Level)

Felt Needs: Tipping Fees are Increasing

Ascribed Needs: County Government is Concerned the Landfill Will Close 10 years Ahead of Schedule