This book is for anyone involved in planning, management, administration, organizational change, assessment, evaluation and renewal. It is for: people who must decide where to go and justify why; those who conduct needs assessments; administrators, managers, executives. It provides professionals with advice on the type of needs assessent they should use, why and how. The book provides an explanation of different types of needs assessments, when each is most appropriate to use, and how to successfully construct each type of needs assessment.

In 1995, Witkin and Altschuld proposed a three phase process model of needs assessment: - Preassessment (learning as much as possible from existing, inexpensive sources) - Assessment (collecting new information about the needs in consideration) - Postassessment (prioritizing needs, understanding their causes, and translating priorities into action plans for organizations). The model has been extensively re-conceptualized and forms the basis for this book. The content includes a user-oriented approach to a comprehensive overview of the three phases and the 14 key steps necessary to implement them. Numerous examples and practical illustrations are given throughout the text as guidance for needs assessors and those who do research on the topic. An extensive glossary of needs-related terms and an outline of a final report are also provided. The book is the first one in the Needs Assessment KIT with connections to the other four.

Making informed decisions is the essential beginning to any successful development project. Before the project even begins, you can use needs assessment approaches to guide your decisions. This book is filled with practical strategies that can help you define the desired results and select the most appropriate activities for achieving them.

This book demystifies the process of planning a community intervention, using clear and simple language to aid students understanding .

What goals should be addressed by educational programs? What priorities should be assigned to the different goals? What funds should be allocated to each goal? How can quality services be maintained with declining school enrollments and shrinking revenues? What programs could be cut if necessary? The ebb and flow of the student population, the changing needs of our society and the fluctuation of resources constantly impinge on the education system. Educators must deal with students, communities, and social institutions that are dynamic, resulting in changing needs. It is in the context of attempting to be responsive to these changes, and to the many wishes and needs that schools are asked to address, that needs assessment can be useful. Needs assessment is a process that helps one to identify and examine both values and information. It provides direction for making decisions about programs and resources. It can include such relatively objective procedures as the statistical description and analysis of standardized test data and such subjective procedures as public testimony and values clarification activities. Needs assessment can be a part of community relations, facilities planning and consolidation, program development and evaluation, and resource allocation. Needs assessment thus addresses a xiii XIV PREFACE broad array of purposes and requires that many different kinds of procedures be available for gathering and analyzing information. This book was written with this wide variation of practices in mind.

This book covers the essentials of needs analysis from the emerging trainer's perspective by providing just the right amount of support and knowledge without going too deep into the subject. The topics covered include when and how to do a training needs analysis; using informal and formal analysis techniques; goal, task and population analysis; and how to develop and present a training plan for management approval. Each chapter includes appropriate data gathering tools. The Skilled Trainer series provides practical guidance for those who've had some exposure to training and would like to take their career to the next level.

This volume is for students and practitioners interested in improving their understanding and skills in the area of needs assessment. The text follows the typical sequence of an actual needs assessment process. Case studies are used to illustrate conceptualization of the task through the application of needs-based data to effective public health solutions. Examples are drawn from myriad public health efforts, recognizing that not all public health sector agencies bear direct responsibility for all activities that could be considered part of public health.

"Sometimes a book appears on your desk that successfully defines a field. You look at the book and say "thank you." Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments is such a book. . . . This book is clearly grounded in program planning and is not an afterthought or add-on to some other field. . . . I am excited to see this book appear in print. It clearly fills a niche that has been empty for some time: a practical approach to learning about and conducting needs assessments. . . . This is a marvelous book that should make a significant contribution to the field." --From the Foreword by Nick Eastmond, Utah State University "While it has the depth and breadth to be used in a classroom, Planning and Conducting Needs Assessments is written simply and directly enough to be a hands-on guide for needs assessment users and practitioners. The framework proposed by the authors is excellent in that it is readily understood and focuses attention on the most important details/issues in needs assessment practice. The fact that they also present an explanation of so many tools, including examples, makes the book required reading for anyone intending to plan or contract for a needs assessment." --John Theiss, Director of Planning and Evaluation, Texas

Go from order-taker to valued performance consultant. You may be pressured to give an immediate “yes” to a training request. Resist. Instead, start playing an essential role in driving your organization forward by using needs assessment to target your training programs to support critical business goals. Organizations need staff to be efficient and effective. That calls for training programs that get to the core of performance issues. A needs assessment ensures that you understand the root of problems like knowledge gaps, performance issues, and product quality and gives you the tools to resolve them. This second edition of Needs Assessment Basics starts with the initial training request and guides you all the way through data collection and making training recommendations. A progressive case study illustrates the seven phases of a needs assessment plan to reinforce each chapter’s content. Part of ATD’s Training Basics series, Needs Assessment Basics will help you develop a foundation that will ensure the training programs you design and deliver will help the organization succeed.